Music Monday: 6-7-10

Ah, summer! We spent two days by the pool this weekend, drinks in hand, and it was delightful! Summertime music always gets me in the mood. Right now I'm loving Katy Perry's California Gurls.

Listen with me on blip.fm!

What are you listening to today? Head over to Hair Bows & Guitar Picks and join in Music Monday!

It's a Good Thing We Don't Have Any Real Pets

The kids have been wanting a puppy, but I don't think that would be a wise move, animal-cruelty-wise, because I've managed to kill 4 Sea Monkeys over the last few days.

The whole sea money thing was sketchy from the get-go, because only five of the damn things appeared rather than the millions I was expecting. I decided I was OK with that, because they were pretty cool and although the kids weren't too jazzed, *I* was. Pretty cool that these living things came out of a a package not too different from a Splenda pack.

But as of yesterday there is only one lone sea monkey swimming around..... and a bunch of dead ones at the bottom.

This $7 hobby is much more complicated than I expected. What do I do now? Get more? Call it a day? Boycott the whole shebang and spread the word?

Thirsty Thursday/Friday: Sweet Tea Vodka

Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday today, and I of course am joining in, although I'm a bit late this week!

Have you gotten into the Sweet Tea Vodka craze? It's all I'm hearing about so I had to join in. Last weekend we went to a pool party, so I took a gallon of Red Diamond Sugar Free Sweet Tea and a bottle of Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. It was a hit! So refreshing on a hot day by the pool.

Tip: Keep your vodka in the freezer.

What are your go-to summer drinks for days by the pool?

Father's Day Gifts on Rue La La

Mr. Sasha just scored himself some $90 golf shoes for $59 from Rue La La... looks like they are having great deals for men all week.

Disclosure: This post contains a referral link.

Avon Nail Polish

I know not everyone is as nail-polish crazy as I am, but just in case you are.... thought I'd share a recent Avon order. I just placed an Avon order for some of their new colors- Avon is such an affordable brand- I love trying their new products.

Right now their polish is "Buy one for $5, get one for $0.99", so it's basically $3 per polish. I chose the two new green shades, Jade and Olive Green. Green is really hot right now, and if we know one thing, it's that I'm totally up with current trends (kidding, but I do think these look pretty).

I also ordered the three new Color Trend Ice Sheers Nail Enamels shown below- these are only $3 and they are scented. Fun!

My Avon rep, Valeri, is always so nice to let my readers use a free shipping code! Please follow these steps so you can use the code and give Valeri credit.

1. Visit Valeri's site to make her your default rep
2. Log into ebates to get 5% back and go through them to get to the Avon site
3. Once the Avon site pulls up again, you should see Valeri's name near the top of the site
4. Choose your products and then use code FSANY or REPFS to get free shipping

Happy Shopping!

Disclosure: This post contains an ebates referral link, but readers will also get at least $5 credit if they use this link.

She Who Is Afraid of NOTHING

This is The Wild Child, loving on a snake found in the yard last night... notice all the other legs, many feet away.

She was even playing with his tongue.... and letting it crawl all over her arm.

Although I love having a little country girl who likes to get dirty and is brave, I am worried about what the future holds for someone who has no natural fear. Seriously.

Fresh Sugar Plum Lip Treatment

(photo from Sephora)

One of my favorite lip balms, Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment, is now available in Plum and of course I just ordered it because I am absolutely obsessed with all things plum. It's a bit pricy at $22.50, but it's a worthwhile luxury to me. I also have the Rose and Clear and have repurchased several times.

Sephora has a code for 10% off for their VIBers good through June 7th... V436CB

And good Lord, don't forget to go thru ebates.... 4% back.

Disclosure: This post contains an ebates referral link.

Review: Clean & Clear Pore Perfecting Moisturizer

This photo was taken in the car.... right before I returned this product to CVS. So nice that they have such a good guarantee on their health/beauty items, because I was allergic to this product.

I thought it would be a great product- an oil free moisturizer with SPF that acts as a primer. And I figured if it was by Clearn & Clear, it certainly wouldn't break me out.

And it seemed fine in the morning. My makeup went on nicely. I was shine free at lunch. But by mid-afternoon, it was getting warmer outside (and in my office, sucky A/C), and I started itching. Very bad. I need to take a look at the ingredients, because the itching was similar to the effect that Bare Minerals has on me, and I've been told that it could be bismuth.

So this was a no-go. What moisturizer with SPF are you using right now? I'm testing out one from Kate Sommerville and so far so good- more on that later.

TGIF

I'm just not sure we could take another day this week. The Wild Child had been doing so well at therapy and in school recently. In fact, our behavior therapist suggested we take a break since she was doing so well- she thought we had it under control. It's probably been about 6-8 weeks since we have had an appointment for WC. We are still doing maintenance listening therapy for her Sensory Processing Disorder, doing 10 minutes per day of a Samoas CD in an effort to minimize what her OT thinks is Central Auditory Processing Disorder.
And in what I thought was an unrelated note, I was just thinking that I hadn't done a "Notes from School" post in quite a while. But *this* is not the post I wanted to do.
5-18 WC was loud and restless at nap. While Miss C was talking to a parent in the room, WC rolled over and kicked her multiple times.
5-19 WC had a very hard time listening to teachers today. At lunch she was asked many time to get her knees off the table, and she continued to put them up there on purpose, so she ate in the office.
5-20 WC had a hard time listening again today. She got mad at one of her friends and scratched them on the face. We talked about using our words and telling the teacher instead of hurting others. She did very good at nap today!
And when I went in her classroom today and saw a cookie in a baggie on her hook, I knew that was a bad sign- that meant she didn't get to participate in a birthday snack.
5-21 WC still had a hard time listening and following directions. She shoved her friend in line instead of using words.
I am so full of sad right now....... I figured we would need to go back to behavior therapy at some point, I just didn't think it would be so soon. That's 4 days in a row! I can't put my hands on Monday's sheet right now, but I bet there was something on there as well...........................

Thirsty Thursday: 5-20-10

Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday today, and I of course am joining in.

On Monday, Hungry Girl told me about Sinless Margarita Mix, and I am intrigued! I think I may place an order but wondered if anyone has tried it?
Here's what Hungry Girl said:

Sinless Margarita Mix - We tend to be a tad skeptical of stevia-sweetened products until we taste them. Well, this all-natural, non-alcoholic mix is REALLY GOOD. No bitter aftertaste. Really. A 3-oz. serving has only 5 calories, 2g carbs, and nothing else (POINTS® value 0*). Just combine 2 - 3 parts mix with 1 part tequila, and you're good to go! Click to find (if you live in Georgia) or buy online.

A shot of tequila has about 100 calories in it, so it looks like you could have a very-low calorie margarita using this mix. The Sashas are getting a new back patio poured and will hopefully get to spend many an evening outside enjoying the summer while the kids play. In my vision, I am drinking a margarita... should it be a Sinless one?

Attn: Girls of the 70s

Don't you think we need this Hello Kitty fragrance set from Demeter?

Music Monday: Smashing Pumpkins "Today"

One of my friend just tweeted that she was listening to Smashing Pumpkins "Today". Wow- the 90s came rushing back to me and I had to listen to it myself!

Join me!

What are you listening to today? Head over to Hair Bows & Guitar Picks and join in!

Amazon Anonymous

My friend Beth posted last week about her recent purchases from Amazon and I got scared. That's right, scared! I know that having a Prime membership has seriously spoiled me... I can get things at my door so quickly I often impulse shop.

I do have an Amazon Visa credit card that gives Amazon credit as a reward (sign up now and get an instant $40 Amazon reward!), and I do make a very small percentage on my Amazon referral links, so it's not all out-of-pocket, but still, seeing this list makes me look like a shopaholic!

So here we go.....

For me

• Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers (Deluxe)
• Rolling Stone (12 issues auto-renewal) (had a reward of some sort- got this for $1)
• Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna
• The Summer Before (Babysitters Club) (yes, for me- I have fond memories of this series)
• Five Love Languages, Small Group Study Edition (multiple copies to use for a Sunday School study)
• Five Love Languages, Leader Kit, UPDATED (again, for Sunday School)
• Hillbilly Bone Blake Shelton's new CD
• Wii Nunchuk Controller
• The New Adventures of Old Christine: The Complete Second Season (birthday present for my mom)
• Golf Magazine (2-year) (for the hubby)
• Good Housekeeping (2-year)
• Camwear Polycarbonate Round Food Storage Containers (for bread making)
• Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
• Not Just Spirited: A Mom's Sensational Journey With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)
• Arnie and His School Tools: Simple Sensory Solutions That Build Success
• Jay Johnson's Boot Camp Fitness: Ultimate 3x30
• Dance with Julianne: Cardio Ballroom
• Order Up! (wii game for me- and it's so much fun!)

for the kiddos....

• Fancy Nancy and the Late, Late, LATE Night
• Fancy Nancy and the Sensational Babysitter
• Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (Single-Disc Version) (1 for the kids, 1 for a gift)
• Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey
• Disney Bedtime Favorites (Disney Storybook Collections) (1 for the kids, 1 for a gift)
• Fancy Nancy: The 100th Day of School (I Can Read Book 1)
• Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! (gee, can you tell my kids loves Fancy Nancy?)
• Day by Day Kid's Bible: The Bible for Young Readers (Tyndale Kids) (for The Politician

Are you embarrassed to be my friend?

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon referral links, upon which I earn a very small percentage....

Dear Honda,

If you want to make the Honda Odyssey version of this, just holler.... the Sashas are glad to oblige.



BTW, the whispered "I gotta go potty" kills me every time.....

Lylas,
Sasha

Shit My Kids Ruined

Thinking of submitting this to my new favorite site, Shit My Kids Ruined, with the tagline "My last roll of TP."

Block Party: Best Little Neighborhood in the (South)West

I am still tired from a wondeful weekend. Saturday was our annual block party, and let me tell you, we throw down. Kegs, street closure, a salsa contest, Minute to Win It, inflatables and other fun stuff for the kids- it's a blast.

The hubs won second in the salsa contest with his Pineapple Chipolte salsa, which he made for me since I am a huge fan of Taco Cabana's.

These two little girls went sno-cone crazy. See why we call her Wild Child (right)?

My little budding artist.

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Love!

I am officially obsessed with Glee, this we all know. But how cool is this?????

For My Fellow Owl Lovers

Megan? Erin? Christy? Holly? Shannon? Katy? Michelle? Any of you guys around? Lookie what I got to see!

Our family went to a special kids night at the zoo, and one of the highlights was that they brought out this little guy for us to see. So cute!

This Just Can't Wait Until Thirsty Thursday

I know it's only the beginnig of May, but I'm putting out the announcement that it's officially "The Summer of Beer 2010". Are you ready?

My good friend Gina came over Saturday night with a drink recommended by the cashier at the liquor store and as she says, "It's delightful!".

Mixing equal parts of Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss and Summer Shandy (a lemonade beer) makes a Pink Lemonade that's very refreshing and summery.

Do you know of any other beer combos I need to try this summer?

How Do I Save Money? Ebates!

I just checked my history at ebates, and look! I have gotten back over $1000 since I joined!

Last year I just found the coolest link and description of my blog on the ebates blogroll:

A mother of two breaks down all aspects of her life from her shopping habits to her children's health. Generally entertaining, and always value-focused, it's a great resource.

I'm a great "resource"- how fab is that??

If you've been living under a rock and haven't signed up yet, what are you waiting for? Ebates is a shopping site that gives you up to 26% Cash Back every time you shop online. You can shop at over 1000 stores including Sephora, Gap, Target, Buy.com and Victori'a Secret. Plus you get additional savings with exclusive coupons, free shipping offers, and limited-time sales!

Sign up with Ebates today and we'll each get a $5 bonus when you make your first purchase!

Click here to sign up:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=m3mwtfM2CWTiwGJU%2Bp86ew%3D%3D

Happy shopping!
Sasha

Thirsty Thursday: 4-29-10

Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday today, and I of course am joining in.

If any of you locals happen to be traveling to neighboring states anytime soon, will you pick up some Wild Blue for me? It's not sold in lovely state with crazy beer laws, and I've got a hankering for it..... I think I have one lonely bottle left that some good friends brought me recently and then I'll be fresh out.

It's just about time for the Summer of Beer of you know.

Award: Festival Band Now On My Playlist

This weekend I ventured out from behind my post at band check-in at the festival I volunteer with, and got to catch Those Darlins and they are so my new favorite. Such an awesome blend of punk, rock, and country..... and cool chicks to boot. They even signed my CD.

I am so sad I didn't get to hang with them- just as they showed up at midnight at festival HQ looking ready to party, an off-duty cop was ready to escort me to my car with the cash.... so I had to take him up on it and put down my celebratory champagne and head home.

Shucks. Maybe they can come back next year?

Designing Women: Did You Watch?

Surely you've seen this..... love. Oh, I wish I had a sister!