The Mother Land

Dear Blog

2009-08-01T02:26:01Z

I know it's been a while, okay a LONG while, please forgive me for I have strayed. I have been distracted, to say the least and on the verge of unfaithfulness and for that I am gravely ashamed.

I have forsaken Twitter. I couldn't handle the incessant question, "What are you doing?" It was always a one-sided conversation, so predictable. We still talk but not as much. There is another, Facebook, I'm sure you've heard of him? He's a socialite. I've made a lot of friends and he's helped me reconnect with old friends too. Exciting!

I think of you often, I really do. I've been busy writing a story, perhaps mostly for myself. My friend Tandi jokingly said we should write our own vampire story, like our novels from our high school days only those were about our favorite band. Cheesy, I know. I've been wanting to write stories again so I jumped in feet first. I never jump feet first into anything. It was exciting to get back in the groove. I've missed it, of course, it's nothing like blogging but writing none the less.

If that weren't enough I picked up reading again. As mentioned here before I read the Twilight saga then read it again. I went on to the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery series. Yes, more vampires. I've always liked vampires. I read the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice so that was under my belt and now I've added more. So, I'm almost done with the Stackhouse series, one more book unless Harris continues it.

I'm currently trying to read two books right now. I'm reading "City of Bones" online for free. It's interesting so far. Also, I've joined a book club. Our first book is "The Kite Runner." At first I thought it was taking me down the "Slum dog Millionaire" path so I was very hesitant to read it. I'm glad I pushed on.

Our first Book club meeting is August 15th so I have a deadline to meet. I finished a Stackhouse novel in one and a half day so I'm not too concerned, although The Kite Runner isn't about Afghan vampires so it may take me a while longer.

SO! I've been busy as you can plainly see. My journals are missing my penned thoughts. So many demands on my time but please understand I'm doing things I really enjoy. Perhaps I'm being selfish trying to do it all at once. It's gotten really bad. Just this afternoon I was putting a diaper cake together while reading City of Bones online AND (yes there is an AND) I had "Enchanted" playing on the tv via Netflix. I must have a problem. Selfish I tell you.

I will visit... soon.

Candes

New Moon Trailer

2009-06-01T23:23:51Z

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This looks promising. I just hope Kristen Stewart can put more emotion into her acting other than the despondent, sighing teenage angst. I'm looking forward to seeing what a little more money can do for the Twilight series.

I'm BaaaaaAAAAK

2009-05-12T18:58:29Z

Much to my embarrassment I was sucked into the Twilight fury, the jet stream, as if the popularity was on a downward curve. I tried to resist the draw, passing it off as some high school fad but I must admit I'm a sucker for vampires. LOL

It didn't help that about a week ago I watched the Twilight movie at my sister's house. The movie left soooo many holes and so many questions that I KNEW I had to read the books to find out what was behind all the tension between Bella and Edward. Mmmm ... Edward.

I had been a fan of Anne Rice's, The Vampire Chronicles until it got too weird for me. I can't remember if I had stopped after reading Queen of the Damned but it's the last book I recall in the series. It was more geared towards adults. So did I want to take this excursion and go back to high school? Oh yeeeeah.

I devoured the Twilight series in 6 or 7 days. My friend Carrie told me about Midnight Sun, Edward's perspective from the first book. It was online, not yet published. Some "friend" of Stephanie Meyer's published an unfinished manuscript without permission. On Stephanie's official website I found the permitted draft, 264 glorious pages.

It's still under construction but thankfully after MUCH protest Stephanie WILL publish Midnight Sun. When? I don't know and even though I just finished the draft I WILL buy this companion book. Todd won't appreciate that. I've been selfishly absorbed with the saga so much so that things have suffered a bit around the house.

So, I'm back, back to blogging..

Lil' Miss Suzy

2009-04-15T04:28:45Z

Hi, I’m Lil’Miss Suzy Homemaker, or so I’ve been told lately. To what do I owe this title to you ask? Perhaps you know if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter but I’ve been busy in the kitchen.

It all started with a rather LARGE bag of ping-pong sized Key Limes my husband brought home one night. Why did he buy these I have no idea and nor did I ask but now I am wondering. Hmmm? I digress.

Todd tells me I need to do something with those limes because they are going to go bad real soon and why not make a key lime pie. (His scheme all along) SURE! I’ve never done it but it can’t be THAT hard, right?? Wrong.

Who would have thought ping-pong sized limes would take me 30 minutes to squeeze just one cup of precious juice? Who, I ask WHO? I credit my naiveté for pushing onward and tackling Emeril’s recipe.

So yeah, I used the whole bag but 2 flippin’ limes, TWO, to get 1 cup of juice. My fingers actually pruned up from all the squeezing. The rest of the recipe was a breeze.

Now I understand why the dessert costs so much. The pie came out awesome! BOY was it tart but oh so delicious.

Besides trying my hand at Key Lime Pie I decided to try out making jam. There was this great sell on blackberries so heck, why not? I found a “no cook” packet from Ball, purchased some freezer containers and headed home.

I got the boys involved, which by the way made the process loooooonger but I’m making memories, right? Let’s hope they DO remember. Did I take pictures? No, may be next time. I have no time to scrapbook these days. *sniff*

My latest Suzy moment was baking two loaves of banana bread. It would have been three but it really is important to add ALL of the flour the recipe calls for. (How did I miss that?)

When you look in the oven and see your BREAD boiling and bubbling ya know something isn’t right. Thankfully I had plenty of banana’s overly ripe. I put them out of their misery.

Oh, the day before yesterday, I made a chocolate chip crust, cream cheese, cherry-pie filling concoction simply because I had all the ingredients AND tonight I made Feta stuffed hamburgers with a spring salad that included red onions, mescaline and arugula fresh from our garden.

Tomorrow is another day and I may be making pumpkin bread, which is normally reserved for Thanksgiving and Christmas but I have a can of pumpkin puree that needs to be used.

Take THAT Miss Suzy! I’m spent. Good night all. I hope your Easter was fun and blessed!

PS – I have more coupons and small samples of Revitalift to giveaway. Stay tuned.

Lessons from the Garden

2009-02-25T16:13:18Z

As you know, the boys and I have started gardening. Here in Texas we've been experiencing Spring like weather and it's been wonderful. We definitely get out and enjoy those days and most times we're in the garden.

Gardening has been a passion of mine since we bought this house, our first house. When Tucker came along I was sucked in to the Mother Land of what seemed like no return. I abandoned gardening to grow a different kind of bean er.... being.

Now that both boys are semi manageable I feel "fairly" confident to take them in to the garden and get back in touch with my roots. The other day I did just that. I had to prune a lot of old growth to clean up the garden area.

The Garden area consists of many flower beds and a pond. A small pond that seems to attracts rocks and sticks or anything little boys can think to throw in. Several times I had to tell both boys to STOP throwing rocks in "... you'll scare the fish" IF that were not enough they would lean perilously over the edge to touch the water. Our pond is barely 3 feet deep but deep enough to drown in.

So, after several stern warnings I had had enough. "If you can't follow instructions you have to leave the garden!" I stormed after them, ushering them through the gate and out of the garden. I banished them to the play yard, locking them out of the garden and as I did so the thought occured to me that perhaps that is what it was like in the FIRST garden ever since Man's creation.

God banished Adam and Eve for not following instructions. They ate of the forbidden fruit and my boys continued to lean over the rocks to touch the treacherous water, not to mention it was icky and filled with who knows what!

God is good at showing us glimpses of what His love for us is like through our children. Unconditional and oh so deep, trying but true.

I apologize for the MANY typos. We're about to make mud pies and typing this outside I cannot see clearly for the glare. I will be back to clean it up.

candesintx @ 2009-02-11T23:05:00

2009-02-12T05:12:53Z

We've been experiencing some Spring like weather here in my part of Texas. I've introduced gardening to the boys and Tucker seems to like it. Carsen likes to play in the dirt but did participate in helping start some vegetable seeds.

Tucker had seen one too many time lapsed shows of plants growing and totally expected our seeds to start growing before his eyes. Cute. He's been patient and it's paying off. He's so excited to see our seeds sprouting.

Here are some bush bean seedlings poking their little heads out. It's so exciting to see the miraculous growth every day now that they've reached this stage.

Here's the bush beans again and the second picture is the cucumbers, lots of cucumbers or squash. The pole beans are taking a bit longer to sprout but they're finally coming alive.

All these wonderful seeds are going in a communal garden Todd and I will be building in our neighbor's back yard. Bill and Debbie will be helping and we'll each share in watering the garden, taking care of it and harvesting.

Their yard has much more sunlight and much more space. It's great that they don't use the back yard except for grilling so they are just as excited to see this project get under way as we are.

Since Todd and I enjoy creating garden spaces we're not just going to throw garden beds together. We'll incorporate seating and spots for flowers. BIG plans ahead but being a SAHM I have plenty of time to get this started.

We've already cut out a spot in our shared fence for a gate and I've dug 6 holes for posts in our first garden bed. That post hole digger is HEAVY! 6 more to go and two beds will be ready to install.

Here are some views of our yard that I took today. Enjoy!

First Month in Review

2009-02-03T06:45:29Z

I have now been a SAHM for one whole month. I have never been so busy in my life. I wonder how I even managed to have a full time job and a house. I can say the honeymoon stage wore off after week two when I was craving adult conversation and a place where people don't call me, "mommy."

I don't miss work but I miss the ladies I was friends with. Not to worry though, we still talk on IM and our first lunch date is next week barring any health issues. I'm looking forward to it.

I do miss my talk radio guys Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. *sigh* I'm trying to have some semblance of a routine - ha routine - I "try" to do some laundry on Monday's and may be some cardio exercise (which I missed doing today). On Sunday's I've decided not to do much work on my household chores. Not much of a routine but that's as far as I've come.

1. Did anyone tell me I'd be forever cleaning my kitchen?? It's like I am NEVER finished. Never!
2. As much time as the boys and I spend together in one week they STILL want Mommy.
3. I wish I knew how this play group stuff worked. I finally joined a group, a big one,
and they keep very active. So active that many play dates fill up and we can't go. At least we can go to the age specified group.

Speaking of play dates... Our first play date was at Live Oak Park just 5 minutes from our house. The day was foggy and the equipment wet and slippery and a bit cool.

The boys had a blast and I got to meet some of the moms. I really surprised myself. I didn't find a wall to hold up (ok I was at a park but you know what I mean.) I stepped up and introduced myself. There are lots of interesting ladies.

It's late and I need my rest. Stay tuned more to come.

Married White Female...

2009-01-24T04:32:12Z

January 22, 2009

Slowly I feel the honeymoon stage of getting my feet wet as a SAHM is coming to a close.

May be it was at the moment Tucker said, “Mom, I want my friends from school to come to my house.” My heart sank. He’s bored.

Now I HAVE to connect with a play date group. I’ve heard so many things about play groups and many were not so flattering.

I’ve heard of click-ish groups. There were groups that snub you if you can’t meet 100% of the times they do. I’m 40 years old, who has time for high school antics?

I did a quick search from some links my friends had passed on. I felt like I was entering the dating scene. I am looking for the right fit.

There were a couple of groups that I would have to fill out applications for. No big deal. One group had 51 or so members. Another had reached its max of 60! Really, 60? There were some groups that only went up to 3years old. I have a 4 year old.

So, I have to put myself out there. Married White Female seeking companionship… for my kids.

I need to polish up my profile, meet up with some of these groups and test the waters.

This is SO not me. My kids are stretching me beyond my comfort zone. Love ya boys!

I'm naturally shy. I'm a Christian with a bit of an edge. Some may say I should dress my age but what does THAT look like? I wear jeans w/ graphic tees sometimes w/ ponytails. SOMEBODY tell me when I get to the point where I can't pull off that look any more.

So what should I wear? I should be myself but take the nose piercing off and cover the tattoos, right? Okay, okay, I don't have a piercing OR a tattoo BUT I'd like 'em.

I'm nervous... anxious. I'd rather NOT do this but it's for the children.

Captian's Log...

2009-01-16T02:34:32Z

Week 1 - My first week as a SAHM - (Stay At Home Mom) was rather interesting.

Mistake #1 - Within hours of being awake, dressed and fed I was already muttering idle threats to Tucker, "I'm taking you back to school!".

It felt like I spent the whole morning just making breakfast, feeding the boys, cleaning up AFTER the boys then cleaning the kitchen.

Note to Self: Don't spend TOO much time getting dressed and ready before starting the day.

Mistake #2 - Making a grocery list and cutting coupons in a hurry to get out the front door in a decent hour. By 11am I was leaving the house.

Note to self: Make list and cut coupons out the night before.

Mistake #3 - Grocery Shopping too close to Carsen's nap time. I was just ASKING for trouble or a child melting down in the check out lane. I was THAT mother in the grocery store with whacked out kids to which I had no control over. A stellar moment.

Note to Self: Set aside Thursday afternoons to grocery shop. Sam's Mom works from home that day. I'm off. Woo hoo!

By 2:30pm the after-school-care kicked in. My neighbor's son came home from school. The boys were thrilled to see "Sam." He did his homework and then they played.

Day 2 was much better. Tucker and I were behaving well and Carsen was manageable. I felt like there was hope.

Day 3 The boys and I went for a walk after breakfast. It was so nice to be out in the sun on a leisurely walk.

Thursday and Friday we went out of town for a funeral in Houston and stayed in a hotel for the first time. The boys loved it. Todd encouraged them to jump on the beds. We snacked late into the night and watched cable. Carsen didn't go down right away but eventually he fell asleep in his pack-n-play.

Needless to say, we have survived.

I have a lot to learn. I'm still trying to find my Groove, so to speak. I feel like I've been doing laundry forever but want to get to the bottom of it so I can develop some sort of routine to stay on top of it. So far so good. My next project is the desk. LOT's of filing and storing of things.

I will say, I don't feel like I've gotten to talk much today. I feel quiet inside... and Todd had to work late. *sigh* May be I'll call my sis. LOL I can't believe I just typed that. How stereotypical is THAT? Oy!

Gotta Start the New Year Right! Eat Ice Cream.

2009-01-06T22:22:29Z

I just got word that my dear friend Baskin Robbins is featuring a new line of ice creams that are BRight choices for you. Imagine that! Now I can eat their Premium Churned Light Raspberry chip ice cream. You'll be happy to know that there are only (and I do say ONLY) 140 calories with ONLY 4 grams of fat. That's 50% less fat than their regular ice cream.

How sweet is that?? I don't know but I WILL have to research and get back with you. Check out their website for the whole new line of AWESOME flavors.

I'm really looking forward to sampling this. I love raspberries and it has semi sweet chips... you just can't go wrong w/ chocolate and raspberries! *salivating now*

Ok, as you were. Stay tuned for my new adventures as a SAHM!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T03:10:30Z

tick tick TOCK!

So that’s it. I am no longer part of the American full time workforce. 12:30pm I walked out of the office building into the next chapter of my life. I liken the experience to climbing out to the edge of the high dive, standing on the edge ready to jump into the unknowing abyss just hoping the water below will absorb the enormous crash of water I’m about to make. Or will that water be unforgiving and slap me with a silly red hue that shouts I landed wrong?

Dear God, catch me because, ready or not, here. I. Come.

I suppose I’m in shock. Familiar emotions hang in the air like the cabin fever of being on maternity leave in the cold wet November, unable to leave the house with my newborn… a first time mom.

I’ve been waiting for this day all year, since the moment I was thrown into a sales position at my job. A square peg being forced into a round hole. It just wasn’t the perfect fit for me.

I’m looking forward to organizing my home. I feel the pressure from stacks of papers and receipts on our desk, or the mounting laundry begging to be washed. There are meals to plan, rooms to clean and boys to teach.

I imagine it will take me some time to get my groove on. I have big dreams with sobering thoughts that I won’t get everything I want to get done.

I dream of actually gardening during the week rather than waiting for the right week end. I will have the boys to contend with and make sure they are safe and not messing with the pond.

I will have plenty to keep me busy here at home. I still work part time for my church and I will do after-school care for my neighbor starting January 5^th. My “former” boss wants to contract me to do their trade shows. So, I’ll be making money and still feel like I’m contributing to our finances.

I hope I don’t fail anyone as a mother. I hope I don’t disappoint my family. I felt so in control at work; organized but when I’m home I feel stupid and incompetent at times, especially when Todd asks me "Do you have a plan?"

Do I have a plan? I plan to seek the Lord a billion times a day for guidance, perseverance and wisdom. How’s that for a plan?

Wondering what 2009 holds for us...

Behind the Scenes

2008-12-05T05:28:54Z

Last weekend the family and I had our pictures taken for our Christmas cards. BOY was that an adventure!

I have to add that Carsen had a piece of candy cane in his mouth hence the weird grin.

We finally found a photo we could work with. So, with some cropping and photo editing (gotta love it) we came up with nice card. We even got 90% of the cards mailed already! Can you believe it? I'm really impressed with ourselves.

If you're doing photos with your kids learn to laugh. Behind the smiles were a lot of "get over here." Don't touch that!" "Stop moving!" We just had to laugh about it all. It made the photo shoot bareable. I love the memories behind this photo.

A little resignation

2008-12-01T23:29:57Z

When is it the right time to say good bye? I look out my glass wall and see my co-workers milling about and I think, if they only knew. I've known most of these people for 16 years. 16 YEARS. This week I'm going to give my letter of resignation and it feels like I'm about to betray them.

There's been so many times I've wanted to blurt out, "I'm leaving," but I swallow my words instead. I was biding my time until now, December and now that it's here I feel anxious. I plan on telling my boss' wife first.

My resignation seems like it could be a mixed blessing. One of the family members quit last month. Some of her duties were split between myself and my other friend. So, in that sense it'll put a strain on a few co-workers. The blessing might be since the economy is down my resignation might save them some money in wages and insurance.

I'm going to stay home with my boys and keep my part time job as Nursery Director for Journey Fellowship. I'm also going to do after school care for my neighbor's 9 year old son. Our boys get along so that's great.

With the impending CHANGES in our future as a family, I'm on a mission of Meal Planning, Housecleaning schedule and saving lots of money. Send me your favorite links if you have any. I like Mommy Savers and The Grocery Game. Any others?

BTW I'm home feeling a bit out of sorts. I'm taking Zicam for the first time. Has anyone tried it? I was skeptical about it's claim for shortening the duration of a cold. How does ANYONE know how long a cold will last?

Garage Sales

2008-11-17T15:16:35Z

We had a garage sale a couple of weeks ago and I'd say it was a rather successful one. Another neighbor of ours joined us that Saturday so the massive sprawl was appealing to crowds. My friend had a ton of girls clothing and we had a ton of boys clothing, not to mention the combined mountain of toys.

I don't know about you but we, as in here in San Antonio, get those "shoppers" who are just going to turn around and sell whatever they get at a flea market. They are looking for BIG bargins.

Well, with MUCH regret, I share a story that ALL of us who participated in this garage sell REGRET TO THIS DAY... STILL. There was this older hispanic man picking about the toys. In spanish and broken english he tells me he's going to put a bunch of toys in a box and I give him a price.

He proceeds to put just about EVERY toy we had in the box (one of OUR tubs). He asks me, "How much for all these?" My gut tells me to say $20 but I say $15. There's a lot of toy in there. He tries to tell me that some of the toys don't have all the parts, which TWO of them didn't. I'm thinking, I really want to get rid of these toys, so I reply $10.

So he buys the toys for $10, A STEAL and he wants the tub at no extra cost. Ha ha ha uh NO. He loads up his toys then comes back... Now he's after the stuffed toys. There are some rather cute animals, BIG animals in the pile (and I do mean PILE). He asks us how much for all of them. Here we go again.

I think we started off with $10 and ended up settle for $6.00. I step away and my friend handles the transaction. She comes back with $5.55 cents. We are both disgusted with the money that we don't care how it's split up or IF it's spilt up between us.

He is the ONE customer that ruined our whole day... week. UGH! I will never do that again with another customer. If I think I'm asking for a fair price then I am going to stick with it. I will IN FACT go in the opposite direction if they try to talk me down. If I ask for $10 then it's $10. They say, $5 I'll say $15.

I would have rather been stuck with that pile of toys and give it away FREE or to Goodwill then sell it to that man if I had the chance to do it over.

There's no one else to blame but ourselves but we won't make that mistake again. At the end of the day it was profitable. We made almost $300. It paid for our Tivo (a refurb) Todd's been dying to get ever since we cut cable.

Today's the day

2008-11-04T15:18:16Z

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

I'm glad the campaigning has stopped. It was cumbersome and well all the spin was making me dizzy. I got my good friend Carrie to register, which reminds me I need to call her and prod her to actually vote and I called my mom to remind her to vote.

I don't envy the man who takes office and the mess he will have to clean up. I've been in prayer for our nation. I feel like we are due a hard lesson but I pray the Lord will have mercy on us YET again. My peace should be in Him but today I am nervous. Which direction will our country be headed? How will this country react to whoever wins? What does this all mean for the future of my children's children?

Tucker wants to go to Chuck E. Cheese on his birthday, which is this Thrusday. I look at the 6th and think, wow we'll have a new President by then. How will this event change my life over the next 4 years?

Lots of questions. Lots of PRAYERS going up. God's mind can be changed, just ask Lot and Moses. I know we deserve a spanking, Lord, but your Grace is abundant.

So, Thursday my little family and Carrie's little family will go to Chuck E. Cheese. We'll play games, eat pizza and cake and we'll have a new President. Life will go on and my children will know no difference. Tucker will be 4 years old and that bright eyed boy is simply thrilled that he's old enough now to chew gum.

Happy Birthday sis!

2008-10-20T17:40:02Z

Had a busy week end but fun. I made a birthday cake for my sister's 43rd birthday. She wanted a pumpkin shaped cake and I had the grand idea of putting two bundt cakes together (again). It didn't work out last year and I ended up buying a store cake.

This year I thought I'd try it again but when it came to crunch time I chickened out and went with 2ea) 9 inch cakes stacked and decorated like a pumpkin. I don't know what it is but my chocolate cakes are too moist and tear when I try to apply a crumb coat. FRUSTRATING to say the least.

The sides were crumbie but the top was almost flawless so I was happy with that. Most of all my sister was happy and that's what counts!

The cake:

Here's Tucker and his cousins preparing for a small hay ride on Granpa's lawn tractor. Tucker HAS to have his ride whenever we go and visit mom.

Here's a photo of Carsen. He kept getting Mom's broom or mop or even both at one time. My boys like to clean. I should take advantage of it now. IT's more likely I won't get this cooperation when they get older.

He's getting bigger. He's 30 lbs at 19 months old and Tucker is 33 lbs at almost 4 years old. I LOVE my boys. Carsen is saying a lot more now. He can say please and thank you and it sounds sooo cute. Of course he can say "mine" and every drink is called "Joos."

My schedule is ever so full with my daytime job, taking care of the boys and my house and then my Sunday job at the church nursery. I feel like I'm running on empty and I have no time to refuel. Saturday really is my down time but I'm usually catching up on housework. Then Sunday it's back to work until 1pm.

It's crazy right now and a bit stressful. I dream about escaping. HECK I dream about going to the grocery store by myself or taking a walk by myself as ME TIME. Sad, I know but I'd do it just to have it, you know? Sometimes I take my lunch hour to window shop but then I worry that I should have stayed at work so I could work on my nursery schedule or issues. ACCCKKKK!!!

Things that comfort me... My Blackberry Sage tea from The Republic of Tea. It's a bit expensive but oh so good. Yeah, I left it at my mom's house. (sigh) Rain storms comfort me too with soft rolling thunder. For some reason I feel closer to God during that time. I wish it were raining today.

C'est la vie. I push on and fill myself with obsurd amounts of carbs (chocolate chip cookies anyone?). Soon, very soon I can slow down to tend to the roses and brew the coffee. Time to make my lunch and work!

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

.

Psst

2008-10-04T02:51:09Z

**Warning Product review BUT but I have coupon codes to share**

I don't know how or why General Mills contacted me but they did. I'm not special because anyone can sign up to be on their panel board to review or test products for them. Check it out if you're interested. pssst.generalmills.com

My first review? I was pleasantly surprised to see this offer in my mail:

Ok, first, I did not receive a tube of Flaky Twists BUT I did get a letter with a free coupon and several additional $1.00 off coupons to share. Tucker and I made these tonight. We were not disappointed.

Tucker had fun twisting them into shape. They were super easy and in 11 minutes they were done. True to Pillsbury products they were flakey, light and cinnamonie. I could eat one of these without the chocolate but that would be sacrilegious.

When I opened the "can" it looked like the cinnamon rolls but you intentionally unravel the dough and twist into shape. There are 8 of these sweet twists. I really like that we didn't have to wait so long for them to be finished.

If you're interesed in trying some out for yourself let me know I have 9 coupon codes I can email you. Just post a comment and your email and I'll send one your way. Tell me what you think. I know there is some mom out there who will transform this product into something else.

GM couldn't wait for the next product test. That same day I recieved a small box.

I found this inside:

It was a great surprise. 1. I didn't know GM produced this product and 2. I've tried this one and LOVE it. I was at my local grocery store on a day that just about every aisle had the sample tasting people out. The boys love sample day. Both boys enjoyed the creamy pasta and along with this sample the lady was offering a shot of Ravenswood Cabernet. Nice. Real nice pairing.

Again, I have coupons and coupon codes. Are you interested? Creamy Basil is awesome w/ chicken. I'm looking forward to making this again.

Thanks for listening. I hope I didn't bore you. Testing free product is a nice gig. I'm hoping to get to a point where I can do some giveaways.
I still have to try out some Ore-Ida mashed potatoes and some all natural sinus treatment for kids that Dr. Sears endorses. Stay tuned.

May be I should create a separate blog for product review. I'm tired but the wheels are a turning.

candesintx @ 2008-09-30T13:39:00

2008-09-30T18:53:35Z

My Dad called me last night! It was so nice to hear his voice. The last time I saw him was at my wedding and that was almost 12 years ago. We have an odd relationship. My parents divorced when I was 7 years old. He wasn't part of my life when I was growing up. We remained in contact by letters, which soon evolved into emails.

We didn't call each other much on the phone and we still don't. Is that odd? I'm not a phone person. I call my mom may be once a week. My sister on the other hand calls her every day. I wish I could be like my sister. I'm going to make a concerted effort to call mom every day.

So, my Dad called and it wasn't out of the blue because I had called him last week since I hadn't received an email of his new address (computer virus). I had to leave a message. I figured he was traveling, teaching his skills at Rabbit Stick.

My Dad, George Michaud, teaches winter survival skills, tanning, trapping and other skills congruent to primitive living. He camps in a tipi and in the winter runs a trap line via dog sledding. He used to paint and draw, writes articles for magazines and he's a great cook.

I wish my boys could meet him and may be they will some day. In the mean time I've asked my dad to write a book for kids about winter survival and such. He has such a wealth of knowledge that I would hate for it to be lost.

I think the funniest thing my father ever said was he wanted to retire. I couldn't help but laugh, "And do what? Everything you're doing now?" How awesome is it to make a living at something you love and comes so natural and easy to you?

I'm going to call my Dad more often. While talking on the phone I just wanted to crawl through the lines and hug him. It was as if his voice was doing that to me. I sat in silence listening to every word and letting them hug me. It was like the warmth of a fire spilling out into the room and encircling me. Keep talking Dad. I almost didn't want to talk for fear of that warmth leaving me but I had to spur on the conversation, breathe on the fire to bring it back to a roar. It was lovely.

I miss you Dad!

candesintx @ 2008-09-19T12:40:00

2008-09-19T21:58:28Z

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40 never looked so fun! I will NEVER forget the party to kick off my 40's. I truly had a blast. It was beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

Todd was really great at keeping the plans a secret and from what I'm told it was months of planning. It wasn't until the night before my party that he had to let me in on some of the secrets. My best friend of 27 years was going to be a surprise guest at my party. I was going to spend the whole day with her too. Unfortunately hurricane Ike was blocking the path and would put their whole family in harm’s way. Curse you Ike!

The next secret revealed was the outfit I would be wearing for the party. My great friends and shop owners of Bless Your Heart, Rachel Dranselka and Katy Brockman, provided my Salwar. It was a gorgeous Burgundy and gold Salwar Kameez. They also provided shimmery gold earrings and a matching scarf/shawl to wear. Needless to say I was blown away. In addition to that the sister's gave me a gift certificate to their shop. They're the BEST!

From the morning of my party Todd had my whole day planned. He was going to take the boys to Papa and Nana's that morning and Donna, my good friend, would be in charge of keeping me out of the house.

11AM - Early lunch
1:30 PM - William's Edge to get my hair colored and clipped
4:30 PM - Pedicures
6:30 PM - Get dressed
7:00 PM - Party time

When Donna and I walked up to my house (where the party was being held) we could smell the burning incense. The mood was being set. I was greeted by friends and immediately was treated to a rosewater hand washing ceremony.

It was so amazing to see my house transformed. Wow. I didn't know my house could do that. My front room was curtained off by swags of sheer cream and burgundy material. My kitchen was curtained off too. My dining room ceiling was also sporting burgundy swags and the table was staged with pineapples, lemons and oranges, copper pitchers and tons of candles.

I was taken to the bathroom to get my bindi on. My girlfriends and I think bindi should be acceptable jewelry to wear. It's soooo cool.

The house transformation continued in the living room. Todd had made two 8' long low profile tables where guests and I were to recline on tons of pillows and eat. My backyard was also part of the transformation. Appetizers like a variety of olives, several selections of cheese, humus, wine, beer, tea and water were offered in a spectacular display under a red, candle light tent.

Todd researched recipes and prepared them all such as, sautéed meat balls, Moroccan pasta salad, some kind of chicken, couscous, saffron rice, fresh fruit. The food was awesome and plentiful.

To top the evening Todd had hired a belly dancer. She was awesome. She even kicked the guys out, who were all to happy to step out and smoke cigars, so she could teach us some moves. Holy cow was that a work out and on a full stomach?? Yeowch. I thought I was going to hurl. LOL.

The girls got crazy with taking pictures. Rachel was taking pictures of the Next Top Model. Everyone enjoyed themselves and it was wonderful to share that day with all 27 of them!

Todd, you're an amazing man. There's no way I could come close to topping this and I'm glad you like low scale quiet parties for yourself.

Many thanks to Katy, Rachel, Lindsey, Brianna and Noel for helping Todd pull this off! And Donna thanks for hanging out with me.

Cosmetics

2008-09-12T17:09:51Z

I'm not big into make up. I'm a Covergirl kinda person but when I was selected to Bzz the Max Factor line I was excited to try something new and not to mention free.

A while back I posted a picture of my kit which included Lip Finity, mineral blush w/ brush and mascara. After wearing these products for a while this is what I've come up with:

Lip Finity - It's a color stay lipstick. You apply the color, wait 30 seconds then apply the gloss. I'm not one for color stay because of how dry my lips get so I was skeptical I would enjoy this one. Without the gloss BOY were my lips dry but the gloss was so yummy I didn't mind having to reapply it throughout the day. At first I applied the gloss a lot but may be it's because I liked the taste? I like the concept of Lipfinity. I like that I can kiss the kiddos without leaving a mark behind. It was annoying to see lipcolor color on my tooth brush AFTER I thought I got it off. IT'S that good. I may buy more colors.

Color Genius - LOVE IT! The brush is the perfect size and the color was perfect for me. I like "mineral" cosmetics because it feels so light and blends perfectly. MF was not disappointing one bit.

Mascara - In general, I could take it or leave it. MF mascara went on smoothly, no clumps and didn't leave a mess. What more could you ask for, really?

The Max Factor website offers great tips for application and acheiving certain looks. Looking to freshen up your look? Check 'em out.

candesintx @ 2008-09-09T11:54:00

2008-09-09T22:03:35Z

Yes, it's my birthday today. I am 40 today. 40... 4 D... yep the BIG 4-0. My birthday started early today. Tucker decided to climb into bed with Todd and I around 3 AM. Then at 3:30 AM Carsen burst into conversation which ended up with crying when no one came in to to talk to him.

Lovely.

OK so I want to take this time and be selfish and post 40 things about me and birthday wishes. Don't expect World peace and other noble things. It's MY birthday and well I'm 40 if you hadn't caught that by now! You might find it peculiar too.

Birthday Wishes (In no particular order)

1. Marshmellow Fondant. Tons of it so I don't have to make the sticky mess. All that to say, so I can make pretty cakes that people can enjoy AFTER they've peeled off the prettiness.

2. Six pack abs. Ok defined abs but right now I'll settle for a 6pk of Mike's Hard lemonade or Mojitos.

3. My perky little self pre-kids. *sigh* It's nice to dream.

4. A week long vacation in Colorado, right about now as the Aspens are changing.

5. To have both cars paid off. HECK to have our debt abolished
6. An array of shoes to choose from
7. The perfect pair of jeans in different "washes"
8. Time to exercise
9. All new floors in the house. Be gone dreaded carpet.
10. To have my engagement diamond back in it's lonely setting.

More to come. I'm sure you're dying to know. It's time to get the boys.

Did you know?

1. I am shy
2. I'm 5'4"
3. I prefer cats over dogs
4. I hate crying (it's not good for my complexion. Not pretty)
5. When I was little I wanted to be an archeologist but thought everything

     would be found by the time I could go to college.
6. I once chased a boy into his house so I could beat him up. In my defense
     he threw a rock at me.  It missed but the criminal intent incensed me.
7. I refused to learn how to cook when my 4H cooking project was
     rejected by not only my family but by our cat. I can't cook Mexican food
     to this day. (sad)

*****OMG!!!! I LOVE this new Vera Bradley purse. It's the new Spring colors and it's called Purple Punch.*******

8. I'm easily distracted.

Find out what happened on my birthday in history.

Lightning Bolts

2008-09-08T12:07:28Z

I wonder if Tucker will remember that night, August 16^th, the night we watched the lightening storm. We had just finished some shopping for the church nursery and stopped to get a .89 cent cone from McDonalds.

We had all noticed the dancing lightening in a particular storm cloud. It flashed pink as it outlined the cloud and in response a white bolt flashed in the adjacent cloud.

We were about to drive home when we saw a spectacular bolt of lightning crash in the distance. We couldn’t help but say “Wow!” It was then we decided to find a safe spot to watch the show.

Carsen was wide awake but I’m not too sure he knew what we were gawking over. What a night that was. The show was amazing. We must have stayed there on the side of the road for more than 10 minutes.

Soon enough we were back on the road to our house. Carsen was still awake. Tucker began a litany of questions. Earlier that evening he had asked, "Mom, if I had a rope would I be able to catch a cloud?" I told him it’d have to be a very long rope. Todd and I asked what he would do with the cloud once he caught it.

“Where would you put it?” I asked. “Would you put it in your pocket?” I had the brilliant idea of gathering a clump of poly fiber and tying a piece of string to it to present it to him one morning.

I digress. The ride home was a fun one. We all played “The Gross Game,” where each one of us tried to come up with the grossest possible thing. It was spurred on by Tucker’s question, “What do storms taste like?”

Let me tell you it got pretty gross, well as gross as a 3 ½ year old mind can get. Caterpillar juice and dirty diapers were thrown around a lot.

I wonder if he’ll remember that night.

This is childhood, watching lightning storms, playing the gross game and catching clouds, isn’t it?

Whatever it is, I love it.

Check Please!

2008-08-20T15:10:18Z

Check please! I’d really like to have a redo on yesterday after picking up the boys from school. I had to stop by our HEB grocery store for some dinner items, nothing unusual for us. Tucker typically asks, “Are we going to HEB?” when we drive off the school lot.

I circled the lot once or twice before finding a prime parking spot. I waited patiently, the drive behind me did not but who cares, right? I’m steps away from the front sliding doors.

I proceed to park but strangely can’t turn my wheel and barely over shoot my spot. I can’t figure out for the life of me why I can’t turn the steering wheel until I notice the loop of my purse strap hung up on my signal light. Grreeeaat. I finally park but realize my left signal is continually blinking.

I turn the car off, hoping it’ll reset something. I turn it back on… nothing the left signal light is STILL blinking. I try the right signal, nothing. I don’t have time to assess the situation; I was trying to beat the looming thunderstorm.

That mishap must have thrown me off my game. Suddenly, I was forgetting where certain items were in the store. I zigzagged my way back and forth through the aisles. One more item to get and I can make my way to the checkout. NOT. Todd calls, thankfully this time it’s before I get to the check out.

I have to get Jim Jim Shiraz and Greek olives. Olives? No problem. Wine? That’s on the OTHER side of the store but I make the sacrifice because I LOVE this wine. We finally check out and leave the store JUST IN TIME for the rain to begin.

I am prepared though. I hand Tucker a big blue umbrella and instruct him to cover him and his brother and I try to manage a smaller umbrella and navigate the cart. Carsen pitches a fit that HE isn’t holding an umbrella and wants mine. I don’t give in.

Somehow I make it of the parking lot with my forever blinking left turn signal and head home. I’m keenly aware people are probably remarking about my “idiot light,” so I put the hazards on. There! The car has a real problem, now get off my back.

By the time I get home we have a down pour of rain. Quickly I get Tucker out of the car and hand him the blue umbrella he dashes out to play in the rain. Carsen AGAIN pitches a fit because I dared to remove his (really my) umbrella to get him out of his seat. I restore justice and direct him to the porch.

I am getting soaked.

After 5 or so minutes of Tucker running around WITHOUT the umbrella and Carsen trying to master holding the umbrella I get all of us in the house AND the groceries too. Hear me roar.

Yeah, December is coming and now I’m scared. Is this a glimpse of being a SAHM? I shudder and can’t help but laugh too. Ready or not here I come!!!!

Community and Kiwi

2008-08-14T21:56:05Z

Not sure where I'm going with this post. I've hit another rough patch with my mood swings. Yesterday was quite interesting. I think I felt the surge of hormones. I was just not handling the boys well. Tucker was particularly whiney and cried easily. May be it was the stress of having to feed the kids and head over to the church nursery to head up painting the murals. It was going to be a long night for the boys and Todd had a meeting with the design team. Thankfully my friends helped me out. I was able to contribute to the painting.

Tommy Hiller, a guy in our community group, drew the murals in the nursery. I'm sure we tested his nerves last night. We just didn't want to screw up his master piece. Thanks for being so cool with it Tommy, you come by it naturally. May be it's the pot? HA HA HA I'm kidding, it's an inside joke. LET ME JUST SAY, he's a FANTASTIC Christian. He and his wife add so much to our group. If we have to divide (again) you're staying with us. If you're on Face Book, look him up. He paints murals for a living and he's REALLY good.

I'll post pictures ... when I actually take some.

So, yeah mood swings. They were all over the place but since I was aware of the "surge" I desperately tried to control my reactions. Last night I didn't sleep well at all. Another night of not being able to shut off my thoughts. I'm taking a Tylenol PM tonight.

*waves off train of thought*

Any way, I am being invaded by gnats here at work and it's making me mad, to say the very least in the most kindest of ways. I've made sure not to have food laying around. None the less, they are here and I swear one flew up my nose. I warned a co-worker yesterday I may go postal.

I entered Tucker in a contest thru the magazine KIWI How is your child your Hero. I don't enter a lot of contests but it'd be nice to win this one. Have you ever looked at your children as potential hero? It was a nice perspective. I may post about this.

These boys are the greatest. Tucker is crazy in love with his brother. It literally makes Tucker crazy to be around his brother Carsen. He is the typical BIG brother. Knocking C down, nudging him, getting in his face, wrestling, taking things away from him and throwing them just for fun. I hope they stick close to each other and are best friends.

Tonight Tucker is hanging out with Daddy and Carsen and I are going shopping. Should be fun. I will get these boys in bed at a decent hour tonight. This week has been horrible in that sense.

Commercial Break - Product Reviews and Coupon Offers

2008-08-13T03:54:39Z

Alright Ladies, I TRIED to get you to sign up. May be some of you have signed up for Bzz Agent but haven't kept up with it (not like there's much to do) BUT I just received two more campaigns that I'm gonna share with you.

Campaign #1 - Scrubbing Bubbles has come out with a handy dandy "Action Scrubber." They sent one to me to try out. I don't know about you but I HATE cleaning my tub. It doesn't help that here in Texas I have to deal with hard water build up, so couple that with soap scum and you can see why I HATE to do it. Any way I was eager to try this scrubber out.

PROS:                                                                                                            CONS
I love how it fits in my hand.                                                                      The pads didn't stay in place
The pads are easy to attach.                                                                   A lot of "elbow grease"
I like that I didn't have to have a lot of contact w/ the cleanser.            Tub not as clean as I would like it.
Cleaned fixtures easily

I'm thinking I will need to use the Scrubber a couple of times to knock out the hard water build up. I'm not willing to throw this out. I WANT this to work. I NEED this to work. It really made cleaning easier for me. It covered a big enough area for me that I wasn't spending a HUGE amount of time cleaning.

How do YOU clean your tubs? What do you use? Jack Hammer? House Cleaner? What's your secret? Are you interested in trying this? I can send you a $2 off coupon for a starter kit, if so. I have 5 coupons whoever is interested.

Campaign #2 - Max Factor.

I'm not ready to Bzz this one. I will; however, give you a sneak peak of what came in my Bzz Kit (did I mention I get this free?).

I've tried the mineral blush all the while using the wonderful blush brush. So far I am thoroughly impressed. But I'm still not ready to Bzzzz. As you can see the Lipfinity is still in its package as well as the mascara. Meanwhile check out Max Factor

It's late. I'm off to catch up on your blogs. See you soon.