Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Quick and Fun Activity

I sometimes struggle to find things for Caiden to do outside that will keep him moving. One of the things he loves to do is ride his bike, but we can't really go anywhere but our driveway because one way is a big hill and the other way is next to a busy road. But I get bored standing at the end of the driveway telling him to turn around all of the time. So last night, I decided to make a road for him to drive on since he is always pretending he is playing Super Mario Kart when he rides his bike.

So I took some sidewalk chalk and drew a road with a few curves in it. Then I put the center line in and added a few "side roads," and gave him stop and go directions at the end of the road. Finally I drew a few arrows in the road to let him know which way he should go. Caiden absolutely loves the road and it kept him going all night long...and tonight too.

Here's a little video of him driving (don't mind hubby working in the background).

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Call me crazy, nuts, whatever you want

But 24 hours from now my best friend and I will be traveling to Chicago to see the New Kids on the Block. Ok, stop laughing, seriously, stop...NOW! Cuz, there's more. This will be the third, yes I said third, time we have gone to see them.


This concert will be outside, which should be interesting. I can see myself getting burned to a crisp!

We will be in the 24th row!!! Closer than ever before!!

Come on now, I know you are jealous. Just admit it.

I'll report back next week...if you are lucky, I'll even post some pictures :)

Thursday Thunks

Found this meme over at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy and it sounded like something fun to do while I'm in a Excel class all day long. If you would like to participate, please visit Thursday Thunks.

1. Someone knocks at your door. You answer it. It's a kid from the local school selling candy bars for a fundraiser. Do you buy one? Me depends on what they are sellling. My hubby, I'm sure he would.

2. The end of the world is tomorrow and you are out of milk - do you go buy some? Nope, I have enough milk to last me that long.

3. Have you ever picked up the phone and called someone that you hadn't talked to in years? Yep, my friend Tracy.

4. Whats on your computer desktop background? The one I'm no now, the Windows sky/grass picture. At home, a wallpaper I made of Josh Groban.

5. What was the very first movie you saw in a movie theater? I'm told it was ET, and that I fell asleep on my cousin's lap. I don't remember this though.

6. If you had to take a 10th grade science test, do you think you would pass? Possibly, I've actually taken a few science classes recently.

7. Describe heaven. Huh...I picture clouds in the sky, nice and warm, always sunny with all of my loved ones who have passed before me there (which luckily there aren't many).

8. Has a place that you lived ever been infested with some sort of insect or rodent? Rumor has it that we had some cockroaches in the heating vent of my first apartment when I came to college. I never saw one though.

9. When you were a youngin', did you hide in the clothes racks at department stores? Yes. I also plopped my little butt down wherever I felt like it when I was tired and sick of shopping.

10. Is there anything in your vehicle that is broken? Probably, but nothing I know of at the moment.

11. What is something in your house that people would be surprise to find? A plant that is still alive.

12. Do you agree with the death penalty? In some cases.

13. Whats your favorite type of bear? A teddy bear. I collected them for years!

14. Where was the last place you went? Work

15. What if that person knocking at your door earlier was an adult selling candy bars... would you buy one? What's the difference between adult candy bars and regular candy bars?

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Vinyl Lettering Review and Giveaway

If you are like me, you absolutely love that vinyl lettering you see on everyone's walls, and you've wanted some for yourself. If you are like me you've wondered what you would put on your wall. And finally, if you are like me, you've wondered where the heck they get those letters. Well, I finally found the answers to my questions when I stumbled upon the VinylLettering Etsy Shop. I have found many sites online for vinyl lettering, but when I found VinylLettering on esty.com I knew that I had found a company who makes original, unique items. When I found their shop, I instantly fell in love with their monogram items.
I was super lucky to receive not one, but TWO of the monogram designs to review. As soon as I got them in the mail, I ripped open the packaging, read the pointers on how to apply the letters to your wall and started scouting for the perfect place to display them.
Luckily I have two living rooms to display my newest treasures. This one on the left I hung in my basement living room. The walls in my basement have just a little texture, which helps the vinyl stick to the walls better. Now, I just wish I had a bar in my basement...this would be the perfect decor for a bar. Of course, after I had it hung on the wall, hubby suggested hanging it on a mirror to complete the bar look...maybe next time LOL.

The other item I received was the one I spotted on the VinylLettering website that I fell in love with. The letter 'A' matches my 2 non-white walls perfectly in my main living room. It is such a classy look. This wall has a lot more texture than my basement wall, so getting it to stick was a little trickier here. But a week later, it is still in the exact place I put it.
Finally I have to say the people at VinylLettering are an absolute pleasure to deal with and they were super quick on getting my order to me. And let me tell you, great customer service is something I really appreciate.

WIN IT!!!!
So now that you have seen some of the awesome things you can get at VinylLettering, I bet you are wondering how you can win. For your chance to win, all I need you to do is head over to VinylLettering, check out their excellent quotes, monograms, decals and other fun items, then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which one is your favorite. Be careful what you pick, because if you are the winner, that is the item you will receive!! How exciting is that? You get to choose your own prize! (You must do this step. If you skip it, any other entries from the list below will not count)

For additional entries you can:
  1. Add my button to your side bar and leave me a link to your blog in your comment;
  2. follow me on Blogger or Twitter;
  3. subscribe to my blog;
  4. send an email to all of your friends (at least 5) and copy me,
  5. blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link to your post,
  6. Tweet about this giveaway. You can do this once a day for the duration of the giveaway. Be sure to leave me your Twitter name.
*Please leave me a separate comment for each item you do on this list*

This giveaway is open to bloggers and non-bloggers. If your blog profile is private, or you’re a non-blogger, please leave an email address in your comment or your entry will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen randomly on July 6th at 10:00 pm CST.

This contest is open to US residents only.

If you have any questions, please email me.

Good luck!


Sunday, June 14, 2009

Camera Critters 6/14

Camera Critters

I took this picture out of my kitchen window, so the quality isn't the best, but the bird is beautiful.


To show off your critters make sure to visit the Camera Critters meme every Saturday.

Friday, June 12, 2009

A moment to celebrate


Dear Greg:
How do you like them apples tomatoes?
Lots of Love (don't hate me)
Mickala
To everyone else....hubby and I planted some "patio" tomatoes in some pots this year to see what we would get...this is our first tomato!!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Wii EA Sports Active


Hubby and I are on a mission to lose weight. We started by watching what we eat and taking the dog for a walk every day. It was a good start, but it didn't take us long to figure out that we needed to do more than that…we needed some type of strength training. So my hubby started searching on line. He came across a game that was coming out soon called EA Sports Active. We looked at it, thought it looked cool and put it out of our minds. A couple of weeks later I saw Allison Sweeney, on the Ellen show talking about EA Sports Active. Listening to her and her love for it, we decided to order it.

In addition to the game we got a leg strap that hold the nun chuck for some of the exercises and a resistance band with handles. (If you have a Wii balance board, you can use it with some of the Active exercises.) We ordered an additional accessory pack with another leg strap and resistance band so we could work out together. The day after we received it, I decided to take it for a test run. I set up my user profile and then I was ready to exercise.

One of the great things about this game is that it has full exercise routines already set up for you, with easy, medium and hard intensity levels. I selected one of the easier routines since I was pretty out of shape. Not more than 5 minutes into the exercise routine and I was already sweating. The next day I went to work with an embarrassing announcement. A video game had completely kicked by butt. I was sore for 2 days! I have tried other exercise games on the Wii and nothing compares to this game.

This entire game was developed with the help of Bob Greene, and if you watch Oprah, you know who Bob Greene is. He is the person behind the www.thebestlife.com. Right now I'm half way through the 30 day challenge on this game. Just when I was thinking that the exercises were getting a little bit easier, Mr. Greene comes on the screen and says congrats on making it half way through the challenge. For the second half of the challenge, we are going to change up the exercises bump up the intensity. Great…(insert sarcasm here).

But if you are looking for a new exercise routine to firm up or lose weight, I highly recommend you check out Wii's EA Sports Active. Their website also has more information on how to get fit and healthy, including a modivation center. This game is well worth the money. It's like having a personal trainer right in your home, for a fraction of the cost.




Blogging in Word

I have Microsoft's Office 2007 and every time I open a new Word document, I notice that there is a new blog post option. I have always wondered what it does, so now I'm trying it out. So this is basically a testing blog. What do I like about it so far…automatic spell check Woo hoo!!

I've changed the font, so we'll see if that works.

Now, let's try to insert a picture.

I call this one "shopping at Lowe's"


 Photobucket
 

Well, I'm going to click on publish now…let's cross our fingers and see how this works.

~~~~~~~~

HHHmmmm…the picture didn't work. I think I need to upload it to photobucket first. Darn it.


 

So the picture never did work, but this is pretty cool…I now have many more font options at least! And now all my posts can be backed up J

Camera Critters 6/6



Camera Critters


Holy cow, it has been a while since I have posted my camera critters, but I'm hoping to do this more often. Since it's been a while, I thought I would post a few new pictures of my cat dog Sully!

This is why I sometimes mistake my dog for a cat...
Photobucket

All tucked in bed...
Photobucket

And finally, look at those paws...I swear we did not pose him like that
Photobucket

Thanks for visiting. Make sure to visit camera critters every week for some wonderful animal pictures!

Congrats hubby!!


Congrats to my hubby who has officially graduated from his Electrical Apprenticeship program this weekend! He was even nominated by his teacher as the outstanding graduate of his class. What it means for him...he is now a journeymen. What it means for me...no more trips once a month to Des Moines for class (woo hoo!)



Saturday, June 6, 2009

Giveaways around the bloggy world

It's been a while, but below are some wonderful giveaways going on right now.

First, Paige over at Nurse Mommy is giving away a Time Out pad. If you have a toddler, you must check this out! Click here to enter to win. Ends 6/18.

Next, Kristin over at An Ordinary Life has an awesome giveaway for a 2 Step Nature Station Playhouse, retail value $249.99!! Don't miss your chance to win...click here. Also at An Ordinary Life, you must check out the giveaway for the free Vado pocket video camera. Click here to enter.

Win some Vinyl Lettering for your kitchen, bathroom, living room or any of the bedrooms in your home from Gina at A Wrestling Addicted Mommy. Click here to enter to win.

Ryann over at A Working Blogging Mommy is giving away the most awesome clock on the planet for your little ones called My Tot clock. If you want a chance to win, go here.

Monday, June 1, 2009

JumpStart Winner

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this. The winner of the free 3 month membership to JumpStart is:



Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp:
2009-06-01 23:39:28 UTC



taysmommy said... i follow ya mama

May 18, 2009 8:46 PM

Congrats!!! I'll be in contact with you shortly!!

Mickala