recession friendly (adult) beverages...

Well hello Ms. Golden!

Kirkland Signature Golden Margarita

 I've never really been a fan of pre-mixed, just add ice anything. I don't know, something about not being able to add the perfect dash of this, the one shot or maybe two of creating your own after dinner drink has never seemed right to me. Until now.  When you think of what goes into creating the perfect margarita, the triple sec, tequila, grand marnier you could be out a good $40 dollars if you're using quality product.  Which is why I call this the recessionista margarita! This bottle is $10 worth of just add ice refreshment. I highly recommend picking one up next time you find your self at your local Costco. No that wasn't a typo, yes, this bottle is $10 whole dollars and since it's Costco, hurry! There's no telling how much longer this will be in stores.





        

the (girl) in the (pink) pajamas...

actually...more like the pink hello kitty velour track suit!
Today marks the official start of Kaitlyn's summer vacation.  I'm trying like crazy to plan a variety of things to make August 9th feel like it took only a couple of weeks to get here- more on that later.  In the meantime, I expect a lot of this....

going on.  Yup, that's Kaitlyn and our neighbor H planning out their day.  They can spend hours sitting in front of each other like this, fence between them, each with their own pile of toys, books, etc just playing.





  

my yearly high 5...

It is apropo that since we now live in the High Desert I should get a cactus garden rather than a basket of wave petunias.  This I love! My 8yo got it so right, this is the most perfect gift.  You see I do not posses a green thumb so I am fairly confident that these cuties actually have a shot of being around this time next year. Yey me!!

You know who else got it right? That's right, my husband. He knocked it out of the park with what I will go out on a limb and say was THE best 'special occasion' meal ever made.  He's pretty awesome right?  

And this amazing girl right here is the reason for my yearly high 5...

Oh and even though I debated posting this one because well for some reason I forgot to brush my hair and put some makeup on, I wouldn't get to have my yearly high 5 if it weren't for my most awesome mom!

an education...

I left home when I was 19, it was 1995, and although a couple of years old- Singles was still fresh in my head. 

  
hell yeah ima GenX'er!!

Aw man how I wanted to be in the thick of the Seattle grunge scene. How could I not!  I had spent my high school years completely in love with Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and of course the ultimate...Nirvana.  To me, it didn't get any better than the thought of hanging out at a coffee house with friends all day, go home for a quick bite and then head on out to catch a live show.
I grew up in LA, San Diego, and finally Fontana.  Yup, born and raised in SoCal. When someone says 'born & raised' you figure they're going to say somewhere like Tyler, TX or whatever. So when you say to someone that your b&r is somewhere like LA, to most that's the same as saying you're pretty worldly. You've seen/gone/experienced some shit. Right? The answer to that is No. It is quite possible to grow up in the whole of SoCal and still be in a bubble.  So a city like Seattle- well pretty much anywhere north of Los Angeles- in my world, at that time, might as well have been across the ocean on the other side of the world, like say Tewkesbury, UK. A long ways away and nowhere I would ever see.  Like...ever.  So right about now you're saying 'what does this have to do w/that picture of Modesto, CA down there?' , lots!, and I'll get to that. But you can't get to Modesto without a little history lesson.  That would be like the opening scene of a 'based on a true story' movie starting right dab in the middle of the book with no clever voice over explaining to you what the hell happened in the prelude.  You'd be lost wouldn't you? So history first, got it.  It kinda of dawned on me recently that because I left 'home' at 19, unmarried sans children then returned at the age of 33, married, with an 8 year old, that my family- my extended family- doesn't really know all I did all those 14 years I was away.  So I'm starting this little trip down memory lane, for them? Sure, but I don't think anyone but me reads this here blog. But mostly for me. Because you know what? I've done stuff, seen shit, been places and have had some fucking amazing experiences. And because where I am now, well, some might say/think that this is all I've ever been. No I'm not looking to validate myself by telling my stories I just think it's important for you, her, him, them, me to know that...even though right now my life doesn't depict it...I am pretty awesome!




The first stop down memory lane is Modesto, CA!  I moved to Modesto in 1995 and did what I always dreamed of...lived in a hotel for three months.  Not just any old hotel, but theeee fanciest hotel in the area.  At 19, yeah that was like a dream.  Who doesn't want to call down for room service, have your bed turned down every night, housekeeping a phone call away and a night club and bar an elevator ride away. Bliss right.  And it was.

and the Sears Outlet Brand Ambassador is...

...not me (womp womp)



A couple of weeks ago I filled out an application to become a Sears Outlet brand ambassador.  I was pretty psyched about this because companies usually just pick bloggers they want to partner with. So this was a rare opportunity to send in an application and actually maybe have a shot. Nope, I didn't get chosen but hey, it was the first time I dipped my toe into the 'blogger product review' world. There will be other opportunities in the future, of this I am sure.

Here's a link to MommyPR's announcement of the 11 bloggers that were selected as Sears Outlet brand ambassadors and also a list of all the bloggers that sent in their applications.  Take a minute and look thru the list, you never know, you may just find your next blog-session ;)


image source:
sheposts.com