Need An Alcoholic Beverage for the 4th?

Then stop by your local Wal-Mart and pick up a 6 pack of Smirnoff Raw Tea (I recommend the Raspberry).

I noticed the 6 packs were priced at $3.67 last month, and I figured it was being discontinued, so I bought all they had (four 6 packs- don't you judge me!).

But Tuesday night I noticed they were still on the shelves and still at that fantastic price!

You'll love it- promise!

Cleaning Up the Bandwagon

So how you are doing on the Couch to 5K Bandwagon?

I think I'll clean up the Bandwagon Blogroll a bit- take those off that fell off the wagon, and add a few who have jumped on!

Leave me a comment about your progress!

Edited to add: Even if you fell off, and you let me know you'd like to get back on, you can stay on the blogroll! (That's for you, Traci Anne!)

A special shout-out to my friend Amanda who is on Week 6! She was a non-runner like I used to be, and after she came to watch me at the finish line of a 5K, she decided to join in. I'm super-proud of her and excited she has caught the running bug. She hopes to run her first 5K at the end of August. Although it is still pretty damn hot then this time of year, I'll be joining her to show my support. (Someone better have a beer ready for me the finish line)

WC Is Time Travelin'

The Wild Child learned the phrase "last night" and now if anything happened in the past, it happened "last night", even if was a month ago.

"We went there last night."
"We did that last night."
"I ate that last night."
"I took off my diaper and slid down the slide last night."
"I took my clothes off and ran around the front yard like a nekkid jaybird last night." (yes you did)

But she got me with a new one yesterday.

I got her milk out of the refrigerator and handed it to her and it must have been an old cup (don't you judge me!) because she said....

"Yuck! That milk is from tomorrow!"

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Pool

Because fun can be had for a mere $7.

Promise.

Moving to Your Own Domain

Kelly Bee asks: Sasha, Could you please, please, please do a quick post on how to make the leap to your own domain name??? I would love to do that if it isn't too terribly hard. I think it's your duty as Ashley's hero, don't you??KB

Sure Kelly Bee! I've got a lot going today, so I'll post a few steps at a time. (By the way, I tried to check out your blog, but your profile isn't enabled....)

1. You are going to need to secure your desired domain. Mr. Sasha reserved http://www.sashasays.com/ for me a few years ago because he swore someday that I could somehow use as it as place to post reviews of all my product/makeup/food finds. Who knew this blog would develop and he'd be right!

There are lots of hosting sites, but we use http://www.1and1.com/ and Mr. Sasha says it's $6.99 a year to buy a domain name. Yahoo is $9.95 and GoDaddy is $9.99- so if you are bargain shopper like me, go for 1and1.

2. The next step is to create a CNAME record for it to point to ghs.google.com.

Here is the bloger help document with specific instructions for each hosting site on how to do this. I followed these instructions for 1and1 and GoDaddy with no problems.

3. Next, you need to update your blogger settings to reflect the change.

You'll do this on the Settings Publishing tab for your blog in Blogger. Click the link at the top that says "Switch to Custom Domain" towards the top. Fill in the domain you registered, and then save your settings.

It may take a bit for all the DNS servers to update. If it doesn't work at first, try again later.

Your original Blog*Spot address will automatically forward to your new domain. That way, any existing links or bookmarks to your site will still work.

And of course, I'm glad to help anyone that is having trouble. Provided, of course, that you name me as the "Hero of the Year" for your blog.

Tball is Over

Well, Saturday was our last Tball game. It was fun, but I'm not too sad that it's over. For one thing, chasing WC around the Tball fields was like a constant greased pig contest. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Above is The Politician with his trophy. He is so proud and really had a good time.

We did notice a few things we'll have to work on with him before next year. For one thing, he hasn't quite got the concept of running the bases down. In this league, each time someone bats, everyone advances one base. The last batter is the "clean up" batter and P pretty much thinks that a home run and jockeys for that spot in line every time.

But he also passes others who aren't running as fast as him. After he batted last in the last inning, he passed the runners on 1st and 2nd and made it home before they did. And he was so proud.

And the parent rivalry is already starting. I got down on my knees and positioned myself where I could take some shots of all our players batting to share with the other parents. One of the other team parents got all huffy about where I chose to be and said all snottily "Could you move? I can't see my son."

Listen lady, he's 3. He's going to stand there in the field and not do anything. At all. He might put his glove on his head, he might do a little jig, but he's really not going to do anything you haven't seen before. And in 10 seconds he's going to go chase a butterly and head 5 feet to the left anyway. Chill the F out. This ain't the Majors.

Lip of the Day: 06-28-08

Liner: Avon Color Trend Lip Liner in True Red (99 cents!)

Color: Avon Pro to Go in Cherry Glisten

Remember to email my favorite Avon rep, Valeri, at bucfanri (at) gmail (dot) com - she may have an Avon free shipping code for you!

Mr. Sasha has been playing in a golf tourney this weekend, so we are having dinner/drinks tonight with the guy he played with and his wife (Hi Amanda!). I need a night out so bad so I've really been looking forward to this!

I imagine I'll be taking advantage of The Summer of Beer. Yay for beer!

OT Visit Went Well

I've been meaning to post about our OT visit, but with VBS this week, and all the general craziness at our house, I just couldn't gather my thoughts well enough to write a coherent post.

And I still can't.... but I know you are wondering (or at least Hollyanna is) so....

The OT verified that it was sensory processing problems. And she said she can help! We'll be doing a Therapeutic Listening program, which is crazy sounding, but she swears it will work. WC will listen to a CD on some special headphones for 30 minutes twice a day. Somehow this CD will help WC learn to to cope with all her senses and how to deal with that herself and not to flip out and display inappropriate behavior.

And then she thinks we'll be released in 4-6 months. We are so excited!

More later.....

Holy Giant Coke Bottles, Batman!

So last Friday I decided to do some online Nancy Drew-ing and find some Haribo Raspberries since Target clearanced them out a few weeks ago, just moments after I had discovered (and loved!) them.

I found them at Amazon, 5 pounds for $15 or so, which is a steal, and they were even included in the $25 free super saver shipping thingy. So of course I had to look for more products to get up to $25.

Since I also love Cola bottles, I decided I'd order some of those too. Only..... the ones I got are absolutely huDge (tm Ashley)! Like you won't believe how big......

Isn't that the craziest thing you have ever seen?

Beer Find: Blue Moon Honeymoon Summer Ale

Is it bad that I go down the beer aisle every time I go to the grocery store?

Don't you judge me! (tm Joy's mom)

You know I'm a beer gal and that is a product of hanging with Mr. Sasha and the football team in college. You also know I'm a Blue Moon fan and of course this is the Summer of Beer at the Sashas.

Blue Moon's Summer Ale is called Honeymoon, and it's marketed as a beer flavored with honey and orange peel. I picked up a 6 pack the other day thinking I was sure there would be a beer occasion soon.

And I was right! Mr. Sasha and I have been chaperoning a group of 10 four-year-olds (!) at VBS this week and there have been a few nights that a beer has sounded awfully good once we got home and got the kids to bed. We tried Honeymoon the other night and we both really liked it.

Looks like it's available from May-mid August. Give it a try before it's gone!

Is Your Child a Pooh, Tigger, or Piglet?

Winnie the Pooh

• More adaptable character. These flexible children generally fall on the middle of the continuum for most temperament traits.
• Their moods are positive and their activity level is moderate.
• They are usually open to meeting new people but may occasionally need support and assistance to feel comfortable. The generally take change in stride.
• Parents and caregivers often find these children easy to care for. The parent of a Pooh may comment that she sleeps well and he can predict when she will want to eat, sleep, and play.
• About 40% of children fall in this category.

Piglet

• More cautious temperament. These are the children we think of as being thoughtful or quiet.
• Usually not comfortable in new situations and will need time and support to transition from one activity, setting, or caregiver to another.
• This child can at times seem to have a somber or serious mood. He or she will probably be slow to warm up to new people and activities.
• About 15% of children fall into this category.

Tigger

• Feisty temperament. These children usually react strongly to change and have a high activity level.
• They can be unpredictable and typically display strong reactions, both negative and positive. You never have to guess how they are feeling. When they are happy, they are joyful; when they are sad, they wail, when they are angry, they scream.
• About 10% of children fall in this category.

The additional 35% of children represent a combination of these types.

This was the information the CDS gave me about different temperaments. The Politician and I are probably a Piglet, with a little Pooh thrown in. Mr. Sasha is all Pooh.

WC is definitely a Tigger!

Off to See the Occupational Therapist

WC has an appointment with an OT today at 10:30. She called me yesterday and thinks she's got some info that will help us out.

The Nuk Massage Brushes are being used in 3 classrooms (toddler, 1 1/2s and 2s) at the school and are a big hit. I've even got parents asking how to get one for home use.

Yay! More later.....

Sign up for Hungry Girl Emails!

You guys, if you are not currently signed up for Hungry Girl emails, you must stop whatever you are doing and sign up right now!!!!!! They send out a daily email with fabulous new diet-friendly treats and eats. I love getting these every morning!

If you sign up, be sure and enter my email address (sasha2599 at yahoo dot com) in the "How did you hear?" field, because whoever is their 500,000th subscriber will win a fabulous prize (and so will the referrer!)

Look What the Mailman Brought Me!

Coach Sterling Silver Snaphead Earrings

I mean, I had to use that 25% off card on something, right?

The guy at the 1-800 number said they were dime-sized. Actually, they are pencil-eraser-sized, which is even better. They are so cute- I am sure they will be my go-to earring for a while.

Today

• P got stung by a bee at school (call from his teacher: Is he allergic? Me: I have no clue- you tell me!)
• It is 87 degrees in my office and I just went out to the family van and got some shorts to put on - very against dress code, but at this point I don't care. Send me home- it's 72 there!
• WC's teacher called and said she gave her a special arm massage she used to use with some special needs children she worked with when they needed to calm down, and it helped calm WC down and she went down for her nap really easily today. She's going to show me in the morning how to do it.
• Tonight is Night #2 of 5 for VBS. P had an absolute ball last night and really got into it. And Mr. Sasha did an excellent job as a chaperon- he kept track of 5 little girls and P with ease.
• Ordered some Luna bars from drugstore.com because they are today's Ebates Daily Double and it's 12% back! (Sign up through me and get $10!) This is going to be my breakfast everyday in an attempt to quit eating so many 100 calorie packs!

I Feel a Little Naughty

I am really liking Swingtown. Anyone else?

An RC Cola and a Moon Pie

Uh oh. I found something at the store the other day.

Mini Moon Pies. They are 3 points each.....

Verdict: Yummy. Now I actually (of course) prefer the double-decker regular size version, but these are much friendlier to my diet. There were six in the package I picked up at IGA for about $3, but the Moon Pie website seems to say they come in packs of 8 or 12. Who knows? Maybe I got a rogue pack.

At any rate, go for it. If you are a Moon Pie fan, that is. You'll love 'em.

Lip of the Day: 06-22-08

Liner: Clinique Sheer Shaper for Lips in 06 Black Honey (discontinued?- not on Clinique site)

Color: CARGO PlantLove lipstick in CeCe

From Sephora's description:

What it is: A lipstick tube made entirely out of corn - a renewable and abundant resource. This environmentally-friendly innovation also emits less greenhouse gases, which many scientists believe to be the major cause of global warming. The outer carton is made of flower paper embedded with real flower seeds. Simply moisten, plant, and wait for a bouquet of wild flowers to grow!

What else you need to know: CARGO is donating two dollars from the sale of every shade to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The PlantLove™ seeds we sow today affect future generations so we are investing in the earth and our children for the future of the planet!

Now, you and I both know I will probably never get around to planting the package, but what a cool idea! And I love that they donate to St. Jude's- a great cause.

This is actually wears pretty well (applied at 9 am before church and still looked nice at noon). It's very moisturizing, and the color is fabulous- not too dark, but such a pretty shade. I got no feathering, which I assume the liner helped with. I just bought the liner at Christmas and it looks like it may have been discontinued.

Lip of the Day: 06-21-08

The Balm Stainiac in Beauty Queen

with

Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips in Dominique

applied over it

We are off to a "Blue Sox" baseball game (per The Politician). The Wild Child has never been to a big sporting event before. Say some prayers for us...... I am 99.9% sure they serve beer, so I should be OK.

Lip of The Day: 6-20-08

Revlon ColorStay Mineral Lip Glaze in Overtime Wine

Since I have about 200,000 lippies, I thought I'd start using a different one each day and weed out some of the ones that don't work for me. So here's what I am wearing today.

By the way, I totally have a crooked smile and a chip out of one of my front teeth. And my teeth need some whitening. Lipstick recently asked me about tooth whitening and I've been meaning to tell you all my teeth whitening story, so I'll do that soon- maybe later today.

Anyway, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this lipgloss. I normally can't wear gloss because it runs too bad into those pesky lines around my lips, but this gloss has some staying power. It's also a little bit sticky, which I actually like. That makes it feel very moisturizing and gives it a little bit of the staying power too, I think. It wears off evenly, and I don't mind reapplying after a few hours. Smells good too!