Oh, The Insanity!

As some of you know, if you read my blog-haha, I have started with Stella & Dot a few weeks ago. I am so excited about it and had to share a couple pictures of my display I set up. I was pretty proud of it. So, since starting that, I have neglected my blog a little lately. I feel like a crazy person running around, trying to get everything in order. Davis is cutting four teeth right now, and his separation anxiety has not gotten better, only worse! I am so overwhelmed, I feel like I can't breath! If I stand up in the same room he is in, all chaos breaks loose! It's awful! Just yesterday, I stood up while in the same room as him, and he went ballistic. He threw himself into a screaming fit to where he couldn't breath. I know most of you are thinking it's just a phase. Or it will pass soon, to not worry about it too much. How can I not? My everyday life is consumed with deafening screams to the earlobe! This doesn't feel like a phase, more like a very bad punishment. I think Michael is starting to believe me when I've told him lately I want no more kids! Yes, of course I will change my mind, but NO time soon. And I mean no time soon!

So needless to say, I feel like a nut lately! I signed up to do the 31 day blog challenge, and don't even know what day I left off on! Deep breath in. In with the good, out with the bad! I love when I get comments like, don't worry, this is just a phase until the next one starts. You'll never be alone. Kick me while I'm down, people!

My Stella & Dot parties are going full force, and so I am extremely excited about that! It's giving me a much needed break right now. Red bulls may be included next time for some much needed, more energy!! I am having so much fun, and it feels so good to be a part of this company. I am excited about the months to come, and my upcoming opportunities!!

Look at my too cute cookies I had made!! They were such a hit!

My sponsor, Dana. She is such a tremendous help and great leader! I have already learned so much from her!

ONE of my favorite necklaces!

My goody table. Cookies, snacks, mimosas, and vino. Of course, vino!

My display!! I LOVE this job! What girl doesn't want to wear fabulous jewelry everyday!?

WINNER!!!

The Taylor Custer giveaway has now ended and the very lucky winner of the beautiful gold leaf earrings is Rita, one of my Facebook followers!!! I know she will be so excited to hear the great news!

Be sure to check in often, as I have more fun giveaways coming soon!!


See that great little box to your left? Yes, over there on the side bar? That's my Stella & Dot Facebook fan page box. You should go over there and click it to like it! Keep up on all the new fall trends, which stars are wearing which Stella & Dot pieces, and upcoming hot news!!


Have a great day, everyone!

Can I Put A Dog Run In The House?

No longer is Davis hiding the fact that he crawls, he is all over the place. Yes, that' right. He hid it from us for the longest time. Here I was wishing he would hurry up and start moving around, but he was doing it the whole time. I caught him out of the corner of my eye, but when he would see me, he would stop. We set up hidden cameras in the room, but that kid is too smart for us. As soon as he saw the not so hidden camera, he decided to stop. Almost like he was telling us, 'be patient my dumb parents. In a short period of time, you are going to wish I wasn't mobile!' And ah, yes. That time has come. No longer can I place the little guy in front of one of his videos, on the floor to play, or simply turn my back for .5 seconds. He is a speedy little baby Gonzales and is sprint crawling down the hall. Can we please go back to the hiding part? Now I'm glad he decided to crawl late because this child is wearing me out! Whew! I am so in for it!

And come on! Can someone please tell me why baby gates are so expensive? Our doorways are super wide, so we can't fit the regular ones, we have to get extreme length to fit those babies! I'm thinking at this point that putting a dog run in the living room may just save me a headache. Like a two for one kind of deal. The dog is getting on my nerves, throw him in the dog run. I have to leave the room, place baby in the dog run. Both dog and baby are out of control, let them chase each other in there. The dog run is big enough for both! Surely CPS will be okay with this, right? Talk about the perfect place for a time out. But until I have a big enough house for this huge dog run, I will just have to dip into Davis' college fund to buy these beautiful gates. Can't someone at least make some to go with my decor?!


I don't think this tree will fit in a hallway closet, so there will just have to be fake grass all over the floor! He is so proud of himself, being able to crawl everywhere and explore EVERYTHING!! Aren't we exited!

While putting away Davis' laundry, I found him inside his closet playing Peek a Boo with the curtains. It looks like he's staring the down, making sure they don't get away!


He was having so much fun! This has to be my most favorite stage yet!! He melts my heart!



Don't forget my Taylor Custer giveaway end today! So be sure to enter if you haven't already!!

Mommy Monolouge Featurette!!-Friday Follow

I am so excited to be featured over at Mommy Monoulouges today! Be sure you go check it out...plus, you'll LOVE her blog anyway! It's a very fun read and will become a new favorite!

My Taylor Custer earring giveaway ends this Sunday, so if you haven't entered, be sure to check it out!!

Come join in at

Aunt Rachel-Wordless Wednesday

Aunt Rachel is moving to Seattle! These were the really cute pictures I took of my sister and Davis before she left. Since Davis couldn't quite use my camera, I of course have none of us. Gee, Davis!

We love you!!! Good luck and we miss you already! PS...If you see Edward, tell him I said hello. Haha :)

**Be sure to check out my Taylor Custer earring giveaway if you haven't already!!

A Lot To Do-Day 2

Today's task is to write a list post. The purpose of a list post is to provide your readers with information that is easy to read and spread. This list post can be about anything!! Reasons why you hide in the bathroom from your family, ways you attempt to keep your sanity, or even what you did on your favorite vacation. Well, since my head is spinning a little out of control right now, I thought I would make a list of some things I have going on. This will be perfect right now, so that way I can SEE everything together. Deep breath. And out.

I AM A LITTLE SCATTERED BECAUSE:

- I became an independent stylist with Stella & Dot and will be having my launch party this weekend
- Having the party, I am running around like crazy to make sure I have everything I need. My sponsor says to relax and have fun, so I am trying very hard to actually listen to her!
- I have several trunk shows next week that I am super excited (a little nervous) about
- Sending out invites
- Davis' birthday is next month and have been getting invites together for that
- I have reviews and giveaways lined up that I need to stay on top of
- I am attending a small business conference next month that I am really looking forward to
- Can't forget the 31 day challenge!
- I feel like there is so much more. This is why I am scattered!
- Life and diapers fit in there also. You can take the diapers though!

Taylor Custer- Earring Giveaway

Looking for that perfect gift? Maybe someones birthday, bridesmaid, or just because? That girlfriend of yours that loves jewelry,(that's me...send it my way) just to say thanks?? Well, look no further. If you have never seen any of Taylor Custer's beautiful items before, now is your chance. She makes all hand made items like no other.



I was so excited to team up with Taylor as I have been in love with all of her jewelry. You can't just take my word for it this time, you HAVE to go check her out. Taylor uses the most beautiful stones, such as aquamarine, ruby red jade, or even blue amazonite. She has so much to chose from that the possibilities are endless.



If there is something you see that you need multiples of, she is very easy to work with and could easily accommodate you!



Just look at these beautiful Blue Wire Wrapped Earrings! Aren't they beautiful?!? These blue and gold hoop earrings will add a little flare to any outfit! Blue dyed howlite stones wrapped around gold hoops.

Now these are the fabulous earrings that are up for giveaway!!
So, I have to admit that they are just so perfect that they are hard to part with!! These beautiful earrings are gold leaf with black swarovski crystal drops. Jet black Swarovski flat briolette hanging from a beautiful gold leaf. These are fabulous earrings to wear out on the town. From top of ear wire to dangle: about 61mm. Aren't they GORGEOUS!

So, as hard as it is for me to part with these, one lucky winner will win them! There are MANY different ways to enter, so you have several different options to try and wear these beauties.

Taylor Custer has many different varieties of jewelry for everyone at very reasonable prices!!! You will fall in love with all of her pieces!!


1) Mandatory: Check Taylor Custer's site. What is another favorite item of yours?
2) Follow my blog
3) Follow me on Twitter- Jessibella8
4) Tweet about giveaway and leave me your twitter name
5) Mention this giveaway on your blog

This giveaway will be running until next Sunday the 25th!

Good Luck on these beautiful earrings!!

Elevator Pitch: 1st Assignment

I am participating in the Problogger challenge. 31 days to build a better blog. Am I in over my head?! Not like I have anything going on. Haha :)

So today is the first assignment. Write an elevator pitch! How can I describe my blog and what it's about in just a line or two. I thought on this for days. And days. And then a few more days. How can I incorporate baby and wine? Lord!

1) What is your short elevator pitch?

Embrace the chaos with a little vino.

2) Did completing this task change your blog, or change the way you think about your blog?

In a way. I know that most of what I write is about my life, but I also write about topics that all moms deal with. Such a making own baby food, breastfeeding, and separation anxiety.

So be honest. What are your thoughts? Day one down, 30 more to go!

My Belle Boutique Giveaway Winner!!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 5 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

As most of you know, my computer has been hating me lately. So I was unable to save the actual numbers.

But....the winner is Kate from Mommy Monolouges!!!


I will be letting My Belle Boutique you are the big winner, and will be passing on your contact information.


Have a great day :)

Look out for my next giveaway, which will be held tomorrow from Taylor Custer!!

11 Months!!! Already?!?

I can't believe it. Really! Davis is 11 months old. Today!!! How is my life flying by so quickly. Can I just press the pause button for just a minute? I can't even begin to describe the feelings of just knowing we are going to be celebrating his birthday a month from now. I still feel like I was just pregnant, as if it were yesterday! Davis amazes me with every new thing he learns, does, and explores. Although, he is now starting to get into everything, so that's where wishing the pause button could take place. Gone are the days of being able to sit him in one place and know he couldn't go anywhere! Ha. Onto the baby gate time!

Eating: Everything! And I mean everything! He loves chicken, broccoli, and bananas. Those are still his favorites. This child slurps up pasta just like the scene from 'Lady and the Tramp.' He eats meatballs, couscous, fish, anything. You put it in front of him, it's gone! He hasn't really gained any weight. Which surprises me since he's a little heffer. I do think that he is stretching out, taking some of his little chunky rolls with him.

Sleeping: He's still sleeping good. Although, he now loves to jump around in his bed like a monkey, so it takes him about 30 minutes longer to actually fall asleep. He is all over the place. But he still sleeps 12 hours a night, so I'm not complaining. His naps are okay. His morning nap sometimes he will only sleep for an hour, but majority of the time, two. His afternoon nap varies. He has found that rolling in his bed and screaming out different noises is far more fun than actually sleeping. Who needs sleep anyway?!?

Movement: I knew it! I thought he had been crawling, when no one was looking and by God, I was right! That little stinker! We caught him on video and sure enough, there he goes. I saw him out of the corner of my eye and as soon as he saw me look at him, he stopped. Really?!? Like he's doing something bad! Cracked me up. But not now, that child is all over the place. We haven't really begun to child proof, but it'll be here soon. I've already started rearranging the frames and decor, but as far as cabinets go, we're getting there! He loves pulling up on anything and everything now, so no longer am I worried about that. He loves standing and walking when holding onto things now, too. Davis would much rather stand now than sit. If he had his way, he would take off swimming, walking, or running if he could. He is so full of energy!

Clothes: He is in need! He's wearing some 18 month clothes already! I dropped off bags full of his clothes to a consignment store, so I know I'll have an ongoing credit there to pick up new stuff for him. Not like he'll wear it for long anyway.

His new favorite toys are boxes, Tupperware, and balls. He actually does so good rolling the ball back and forth to us. It's so cute and keeps him entertained for a while. Davis always plays with Tupperware when we are cooking. Banging on anything he can find, and throwing around the Tupperware and spatulas. Most of the time, he's pretty easy to entertain. Most of the time.

We are still fighting the fun separation anxiety. Serenity now....still!! His ear infection is slowly going away, thank goodness. He loves that medicine though! Can babies be addicted at 11 months? Ha ha. You remember the bubble gum stuff? That's what he has! Plus he now has 4 teeth coming in at the same time. 4 teeth. Oh, yes. It's been fun times at our house!! So that will make for a total of 6 teeth.

No, you are not taking my spaghetti and meatballs!!!

Ummm.....no. I don't share. I'll pretend I didn't hear that.

What? Seconds??? Okay, you can have some then!

Don't forget my giveaway ends today! If you haven't entered, be sure to check it out!

Five Question Friday

My posts have been sporadic lately. I am feeling consumed at the moment trying to get my Stella and Dot launch party going, that I can't think! My mind will be back in a few days!

Here's the questions! You should do the same and go link up!
1. Do you collect anything? Wine corks! I've been on a mission to make a wreath for some time now, but goodness do you need a lot of corks!!!


2. Name 3 celebrities that you find good looking. Ryan Reynolds, Jude Law, (I know, the cheating ass) and Bradley Cooper


3. Do you have any scars? If so, what's the story behind it (them?)? A very small one on my arm. I had a cast when I was little and the inside itched sooo bad! My genius self decided to stick a retractable pencil in there, causing the lead to break off! Yuck!!


4. What is a food that you like to eat, but others might think it's gross or weird? Fries with mayo, eggs with ketchup, ruffles with mayo or mustard


5. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life? Yes. We were little and about to leave a restaurant and there was a (tiny) tornado outside. Of course I thought it was cool at the time!

Don't forget my jewelry giveaway!!!

Playin While Mama Cooks...Wordless Wednesday

So, I've been trying alllll day to post things, read blogs, etc. I think my computer is hating me today! I didn't get to upload the video that I had been attempting for hours, but this is pretty darn cute :)

I also want to announce how excited I am that I have joined on the Stella and Dot team!!! Don't know who that is? Be sure to check out their fabulous jewelry and take advantage of the 50% off sale going on right now!!

Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!! Great jewelry and can also be personalized!!

My Belle Boutique Review & Giveaway

I am so excited to share this review with everyone, as My Belle Boutique has the cutest jewelry and handmade items. Kayla makes very unique handstamped necklaces, personalized just for you. She is a stay at home mom, loving spending time with the kiddos, and still having her other love for her wonderful craft.

This is the necklace that I was thrilled to open yesterday! She pays attention to detail, down the adorable box the necklace came in. I was planning on showing you, but I think someone tossed it. (Hint, hint!)

Isnt' this so cute!? On a sterling silver ball chain, it is the perfect length. You can choose either 16 or 19 inches long.


This is a hand stamped sterling silver oval disc with engraved 'J' and ivory potato pearl charm.

Perfect for any occasion or daily wear!

Check out some of her other items in My Belle Boutique-

She has steals and deals for everyone!

♥ Check out the "Deal of the Week" section for huge savings!
♥ Spend $20 & get FREE EARRINGS! Message to redeem this deal!
♥ GIFT CERTIFICATES, which make great gifts!

Now, for what you're waiting for!! My Belle Boutique is kind enough to give the winner a $15 credit towards any item. There are MANY ways to enter.

1. MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit My Belle Boutique and let me know which item you would like to win
2. Follow me through Google Friend Connect. If you already follow, leave a comment letting me know
3. Follow My Belle Boutique's Blog
4. Follow me on Twitter: Jessibella8
5. Tweet about this giveaway, leaving your Twitter name
6. Mention this giveaway on your blog
7. Become a Fan on My Belle Boutique on Facebook

The contest starts today and will end next July 18th (this Sunday)

Good Luck!!

Keeping Entertained & Award Ceremony

First of all, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Award time!!

I received the wonderful from the very sweet Asashia over at A Practical Mom Go check her out and say hello!











I also received from one of my favorite bloggers, Kate, over at Mommy Monolouges.
If you aren't following either one of these blogs, you should start. Now. That is all. Thank you very much to both of you. I really appreciate it. And also, as always, there are rules to this award ceremony we got goin on over here! Pass this little beauty on to five people. So I'm going to pass it on over, and if you have already received one, then take your pick!

1) A Little Kloep
2) Adventures In Vineyardland
3) Casa Di Cass
4) Really? I'm a Mom?
5) Strawberry Fields

What do I mean about keeping entertained? If you've read my blog lately, you know things have just been a barrel of fun at my house. Between Davis' ear infection, and still dealing with separation anxiety, I may be in a padded room here pretty quick. So, this brought a HUGE smile to our face yesterday. He actually 'played' ball with us. Meaning, he was rolling it back and forth to Michael and it was just so darn cute! So of course I have to share a couple of pictures I snapped with my phone.


I got this! I'm a pro!







I am such a big boy!!

Can I Throw In The White Flag?

I know you've been there. You've had those days. Yes, THOSE DAYS! Where it is only about 9 am and you are already praying and wishing for the day to be over. Your perfect little angel has sprouted horns that have fire flaming off the tips. What? Just mine? No, no. I'm not fooled. You're a mom. You've been there. 10am comes and is ever so slowly inching it's way to...10:01. You sit and wonder why? Or, I am never having children again! Can it please be, 'take your screaming baby to work' tomorrow so mama can have a break? Of all jobs in the world, this job should have a hot line! Seriously! Someone (besides your husband, because Lord knows they usually get the short end of the stick, a lot) that you can call and scream at. Just pick up the phone and yell something random like, "Come pick up this screaming child that is flinging himself all over the carpet and making me want to scream in a pillow." Thank you. And then hang up. Okay, that felt a little better now. Now back to wailing child whose face is now fire engine red.

Ahhh...yes. Those days. What would motherhood be without them. A lot less stressful and a whole heck of a lot quieter that's for sure. Something was implanted in these children's brains saying, "Once all is calm and quiet, keep your mom on her toes. She loves to play guessing games. Show her how strong your pipes are and scream away. It's not like she has good hearing or anything!" If only I could invent a screaming translator, I'd be golden!

Motherhood is so like playing a guessing game and will forever keep me on my toes. Just when I get used to one thing, something else new pops up and says, 'HEY THERE!' But don't you worry. I have my shield, armor, my gear on and I'm ready to play this round. Game on!!

No, no. I wasn't really going to throw in the towel on motherhood. Just a figure of speech. The majority of the time, Davis is great. And when Davis is bad, well like I've said before, he can be a demon spawn. Then I go look at that sweet little angelic face (while he's sleeping) and wonder how in the world I ever got mad or upset with him. You know how it is. In the morning, you wake up, ready to battle another day. Laying in bed you wonder if you are going to awake the demon, or the angel. Either way, you have your gear on just in case!

Bucket List-Writer's Workshop

(I will amaze myself if I can actually think of 100 things. They are in my head somewhere, but I have to find them)

1. Learn how to bake besides homemade cookies and without using a box
2. Learn how to sew and make some cute kids cloths
3. Go horseback riding on the beach with out a stupid instructor
4. Go back to Europe...anywhere
5. Visit Ireland. Find relatives. Stay for free
6. Find a way to complete, start, do our family tree
7. Get more involved in church
8. Read more of the Bible
9. Join the choir because I love to sing
10. Be in a play.
11. Be a teacher/volunteer in a VBS class
12. See a live rain dance again and learn if it was just coincidence
13. Spend the entire day outside with my kid/s. Picnic, playing, and exploring
14. Travel. Go the airport and pick a place and go for it.
15. Join Red Cross
16. Serve food at the food shelter or food bank
17. Have a monkey until it gets older and wants to beat me
18. Be more patient
19. Sing chareoke
20. Meet Ellen. Have to meet Ellen
21. If can't meet Ellen, have to go on her show!!!
22. Become a part of March of Dimes besides walking
23. Meet a monk
24. Swim with the dolphins
25. Write a book and pray someone actually reads it
26. Learn to garden better and not kill my plants
27. Go on vacation and stay in one of those kick bootay tree houses
28. Make sure to have a lot of nets in tree house
29. Have an orchestra play under the Eiffel Tower and slow dance.
30. Preferably slow dance with Michael and not by myself.
31. Have my boobs magically reappear. I don't want surgery, but maybe magic powder!!
32. Have my mom belly leave me.
33. Raise healthy, strong, and independent children
34. Learn to be more patient. Not so good with this.
35. Bounce on a pogo stick in the aisles at Toys R Us
36. Buy baby clothes for someone at don't know at a store
37. Drive a race car. I'm drawing a blank...but that has been in Nascar
38. Don't die driving the car.
39. Go para sailing
40. Go deep sea diving
41. Ride a horse that has been in Kentucky Derby
42. See all of the Cirque de Soleil shows
43. Submit some of my ideas for kids books
44. Open a store that has paper products. Stationary, wedding invites, and gifts
45. Have a pastry shop. After I learn how to bake
46. Zip line. Woo hoo!
47. Tell people that make some of these insurance commercials they are idiots
48. Win a photography contest
49. Learn more arts and crafts
50. Set up a arts and crafts booth at fair
51. Pay off my student loans
52. Be able to have family vacations once a year. Fun ones
53. Go on a Disney cruise just bc they also have kids activities. Alone time!
54. Make a family tradition for us and stick with it.
55. Do a better job of keeping up with Davis' baby book
56. Get pictures printed before 8 months goes by.
57. Go to the beach for our anniversary and renew our vows with close friends
58. Have a home makeover
59. Revamp all of our closets, drawers, everything!
60. Learn to dance so I can actually dance with my husband
61. Get the 'My So Called Life' series and watch it one weekend
62. Have our 20's themed costume party.
63. Redo our backyard
64. Give my dog better attention
65. Take cooking classes
66. Enter a cooking contest
67. Dance in front of a group of people like it's a normal thing to do
68. Adopt a child
69. Become a member of CASA
70. Reconnect with old friends and stay connected
71. Have a friends reunion
72. Learn how to speak Spanish so we can teach our son
73. Attend Bloggy Boot Camp or BlogHer. Sponsor?
74. Drink hot cocoa in the mountains
75. Sleigh ride in the mountains
76. Hit a random person with a snowball from moving sleigh ride
77. Meet the Pope
78. Have a massage outside
79. Have a kick bootay clientele for aesthetics
80. Have a lake house
81. Own jet skis
82. Eat as much pizza I can and not gain a pound
83. Volunteer at a orphanage
84. Have old classics for my kids to read
85. Have old black and whites like original Little Rascals for kids
86. Be a room mom
87. Involved in kids clubs. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts
88. Have my blog gain a ginormous following
89. Write with importance and value
90. Read to kids at story time
91. Not worry about health issues
92. Be in a Luau and pretend I'm a native
93. Donate a huge sum to a charity I'm passionate about
94. Find Mr. Wilson, my old math teacher, and tell him he helped me tremendously
95. Have casino night at my house
96. Sell Stella & Dot jewelry
97. Become a wine snob
98. Take a creative writing class
99. Learn from my children
100. Mark things off this list

You Know You're A Mom

Restaurant #1: You are having lunch with your friend and little one, having a grand ole time. Well, baby may be a little fussy, so why not introduce him to foccacia bread. He loves it!! Here, have some sweet potato puffs. Let mama finish lunch and we'll leave soon. Oh, okay, it is getting close to your nap time. Check, please! Walking out of the restaurant, you have somehow managed to land puffs on the back of your leg. You have no idea, so you just keep on walking, people looking...why?!? But it's okay, friend to the rescue. Um...yeah. Jessica, you have food all on the back of your leg! Nice!!


Restaurant #2: A co-worker of husbands is nice enough to take the entire family out to dinner one night. Pulling up, the place looks okay, decent Italian place. But you walk in and realize, oh no. This is so not a baby friendly place. Dim lights and couples enjoying their QUIET meals over a nice glass of wine. Linen table cloths and you're a little under dressed too. Does this place even have high chairs? Oh, Lord! This is going to be interesting! Nervous and stomach starting to turn, you sit down anyway, hearing how much co-worker loves this place. Oh, they have high chairs. There is probably one other person in the world that has taken their child here! And here it comes. Tantrum. No, you can not play with the knifes. Boy, you are going to get us kicked out of here. It's close to his dinner time anyway. Feed the child and it'll be good. Broccoli! Stat! (You decide not to scream that across the nice restaurant. You quietly tell the waiter.) Steamed broccoli arrives and all is well. I can deal with the gas from baby. The incessant screaming has to stop. (Yes, that is his favorite food! I know. Odd!)

Too Much Fun??-WW

To think this was still somewhat at the beginning of the night. I have a total knack for making odd faces (aka ruining pictures)

But hey, we had fun :)

Good Friends Are

"Why is the Vodka always gone?" (haha)

~Capt. Jack Sparrow




"Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive,
and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
~Anais Nin






"A friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be somewhere else."
~ Anonymous

Getting To Know You...

Happy Fourth of July everyone. It's super rainy and blah today!! And because it's not even 8:30 in the morning, I don't think any grill will be fired up yet, so of course I'm participating!


The questions..

1. What do you look forward to the most on the 4th of July? being with friends and family, grilling, and fireworks!! I love fireworks!

2. Are you a hugger? I'll give them. I'll take them. I'll steal them. haha

3. What is your favorite BBQ'd food? I'm not a huge BBQ fan. I know, everyone in Texas freak out on me! But instead I'll say burgers on the grill!

4. Do you like to watch parades? ummm....sometimes. The Macy's Thanksgiving parade is a must, but that's on tv. I do like hearing good marching bands. Corny? Oh well.

5. Who has stinkier farts..boys or girls? uhh...duh!

6. Vampires or Werewolves? Vampires

7. Do you read your horoscope? I read fortune cookies! Guess that sounds like I go to a Chinese restaurant everyday, huh?!

8. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Rocky Road baby!!!

Okay, go link up! There were almost 200 last week!!! You know you want to. Have a great day :)

Get Salty

With a body scrub that is! I haven't done one of these in a while, so why not now? With crazy and hectic lives, who always has the time and money to always go to a day spa. (In my dreams!) Some days spas and destination spas charge as much as $150 for a body scrub. I know, I was one of them. Exfoliating the skin is important to keep the skin healthy and happy. When the dead, dry skin cells have been sloughed away, the skin more readily accepts and retains moisture, a key component to overall skin health. You can make this recipe for less than $10! Hurry, you know you want to write this down!


Ingredients and Tools
•2 cups sea salt, kosher salt, or white sugar. Salt will be slightly more abrasive than sugar.
•1 cup sweet almond oil. Grape seed and olive oil are also excellent choices for oils.
•10-30 drops of cosmetic-grade and/or high quality essential oils of your choice. Lavender is suitable for most skin types.
•A covered, plastic container for mixing and storage.

Making the Scrub
Combine the salt or sugar with the oil. Then, begin adding essential oils drop by drop. The scent should be present, but not overwhelming. Always make sure that the essential oils are skin-care quality, to aid in the prevention of skin irritation. Oils with stimulating properties, such as peppermint or spearmint, should be avoided, as they may irritate the more sensitive areas of the body.



Directions For Using An Exfoliating Body Scrub At Home (I'm sure you know this anyway, but I'm just throwing it out there!)
1.Step into a dry shower or bathtub. Do not turn on any water.
2.Beginning with one or two tablespoons of homemade exfoliating scrub, apply the scrub to one area of the body at a time. Start with the feet and legs and work upward, adding more of the body scrub as needed.
3.Keep in mind that sensitive areas, like under the arms or the inner thigh, need only a light amount of pressure, whereas rougher areas such as the bottom of the feet and ankles can withstand a more firm pressure.
4.Turn on the water and shower (or bath) and rinse the body completely, ensuring that the homemade body scrub has been thoroughly washed away.
5.Turn off the water and pat the skin dry. Rubbing can irritate the freshly exfoliating skin. Patting the skin dry is a gentler, softer way to remove the water without removing the oils that have been added to the skin.
6.If skin feels as though it needs more hydration, apply a favorite body moisturizer. Because the skin is recently exfoliated, body moisturizers without fragrance are preferable.

This recipe yields approximately three to five full body exfoliation sessions at home. Remember that oil can go rancid over time, and without preservatives, the body scrub should be used within one month. For best results, a weekly or bi-weekly body exfoliation is the recommended usage. Furthermore, this body scrub recipe is too abrasive for the face and should be used on the body only.

Swagger Wagon & Awards!! What! What!

I saw this over at Jen's and I HAD to post it. Yes, had to! I laughed that I actually teared up.


I think I find it even funnier because I always say I will never drive a minivan. Is Toyota speaking to me? Plus, I could sadly see Michael and I doing this! Watch out for 'Swagger Wagon Part 2'!!


Okay, I also have some awards that I need to post and send out since I have been slacking a little bit and haven't gotten around to it.

First one is....drum roll please....

I got this beauty from the wonderful Kristy....and if you don't follow her blog, then you should. Now.

The second one is....loud gong please....


Have you seen this one before? Okay, well I haven't so I was pretty excited about it! This beautiful award came from Sara....and she is another one of my favorite blogs!!

With both of the awards, you are supposed to link back.(check) Give to twelve bloggers (getting there...this takes time) and with one of them post seven things about moi. And let the person know they won an award. Here goes, deep breath...

1) Pampers and Pinot
2) Unofficial Mom
3) The Undomestic Momma
4) The Loves of Jenn
5) Smiling in the South
6) My Fantabulous Wonderful Life
7) Mommy of a Monster
8) Modern Styler Mama
9) Mannland5
10) Barefoot By The Sea
11) Kitchen Belleicious
12) A Daily Scoop of Chaos

And I have to back out of the last part. Just doing the linking to 12 bloggers took me forever. Wipe the tears, it's okay. I'm sure I'll divulge some sort of secret info about me!