Feeling Wicked? Want to Tempt your Man?

If there is one thing that remains a constant in my house, even during the recession we are facing, even when I cut out such things as frou-frou coffee and eating out, I cannot stop buying such things as incredibly sexy lingerie and underclothes. I love something frilly that makes me feel completely sexy and comfortable at the same time. I love feeling especially girly in lacy matching bras and panties. I love soft teddies and naughty fish net. I would be lying if I said the husband did not enjoy it also. Especially when I pick him up from work wearing something skimpy, new and a big smile.

When you wish upon a star…

Guess What?! Disney on Ice, Disneyland Adventure is coming to Phoenix! That’s right, in a matter of days you can see your favorite Disney character.

The Phoenix showing at US Airways Center is scheduled for the following dates and times:

Thursday, April 9, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 10, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 11, 2009, at 11:30 a.m., 3:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 12, 2009, at 1:30 and 5:30 p.m.

If you would like to take your children to see this wonderful show, have I got a deal for you!

Purchase a family 4-pack of tickets for only $44 at www.ticketmaster.com and enter the coupon code: MOM

(Note, if you want to enter a contest to WIN

a family pack of tickets for opening night, click here).

Brutal

Tap Tap Tap

Is this thing still on? 

I just wrote a paper on developmental problems in children and the long term affect/effects those problems have on the child once they become an adult, including medical illnesses and diseases resulting from the developmental issues. 

I think I broke my brain. 

Only two more weeks off this class.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Bald Cypress Tree

Ya know what I miss about Utah? It is not the snow or frigid temperatures. It is not just the mountains or the changing colors of fall trees. It is the pine trees. Really. There is something about the various shades of green that grow in Utah, that do not grow here in Arizona. I miss them and they remind me of the bald cypress tree that grows there and here too but in Utah, the color is different, a richer green, the trees look healthier in Utah also. I'm sure that has something to do with the constant sun and triple digit temperatures here but hey, at least they grow here and I get to see them occasionally. That is what really matters because part of what I miss the most is the trees and rich green colors that you don't find here in the scorching desert.

Exercise and Bikes and Options

In my never ending quest to become thin again, I've began pricing exercise equipment. Part of the problem I have is that I live in the sticks, the closest gas station and/or grocery store is ten miles away. Hitting a gym before work is impossible logistically due to proximity to my house as well as the fact that I leave for work and take my kids to school on the way. Additionally, I work in an environment that is not conducive to lunch breaks, my commute is an hour and 15 minutes each way and by the time I get home from work, it is 7:00 p.m. and I'm cooking dinner and serving it up by 7:45 p.m. As such, the only real time for me to work out is after dinner. Because of this, I've been looking to add to my equipment and I'm thinking of exercise bikes as something I can put in the garage or on the back patio and use all year round. A bike would be easy to use at night during the summer because I can sit on it and do my thing while the kids play in the pool and then, after my 45 minutes, I can jump in the pool too for a quick cool off. Yes, I think I may make a new purchase with my tax return...

Help the Tide Loads of Hope Program

Remember way back when to the nightmare that was the Katrina disaster? Remember how people had no homes to return to and nowhere to live? They had no way to clean up either. Germs and disease and no way to do laundry or have clean clothes for the hundreds of thousands of people was enough for Tide to step up and find a way to help. Tide's Loads of Hope truck went to Camp Hope in the Metairie, LA area and washed well over 10,000 loads of laundry. If you can help support this effort, buy a Tide Vintage Tee.

To read more about this amazing program, click here.

Any program that helps in any person after a natural disaster is okay by me. Tide has partnered up with Feeding America to travel to disaster affected neighborhoods with the Tide Loads of Hope truck or vans, our free mobile laundry service. The Tide Loads of Hope truck has "32 high-effiency washers and dryers stationed on the truckCan do 300 wash and dry cycles a day - equal to one year's worth of laundry for a single family [and] will wash about 9,000 loads of laundry over a four-week period. The truck is useful during massive disasters where electricity is unavailable." The Tide Loads of Hope vans partner up with local laundromats and provides free laundry service at the same load rate as the Tide trucks.

So far, the Tide Loads of Hope "has washed more than 35,000 loads of laundry for over 20,000 families. Most importantly, the Tide Loads of Hope program means we're equipped to take action whenever and wherever there is a need in our country."

Who couldn't get behind that? Tide Loads of Hope can also be supported through the purchase of a Tide Vintage Tee. All profits go to support families affected by disaster.

(originally published on my review blog)

I need something pretty, like a white pvc fence

Speaking of Utah, when we lived there, we had a beautiful pvc fence installation done. The fence was so pretty. It made the yard look good, inside and out, kept the kids in and neighbors out. Now, I have a really ugly cinderblock fence in my backyard. It is not painted and I haven’t got much growing back there yet because every time I plant some pretty flowering vine to cover up the ugly fence, the dog eats it down to the ground. I’ve tried fencing and she ate through that too. Something about freshly planted soil that makes her hungry I guess. I asked my husband if we could erect a new pvc fence around the perimeter of our existing fence that was pretty like our last one and he looked at me like I had three heads. He just doesn’t have an eye for beauty.

It's that time of year again, the creepy bug timef

Where we lived in Utah, you didn't hear crickets unless you were camping in the wilderness. When we first moved to Arizona and we could hear the crickets we were so excited, every night one of us would say "oh, do you hear the crickets?" and the other would say "yes, it's nice. Let's sit outside" and we would grab a cup of coffee and sit on the patio and enjoy the sound of crickets instead of traffic.

A lot has changed in four years. Now the only sound heard on a regular basis is "where is the bug spray? I can't hear over the damn crickets!"

I saw these spider traps and I immediately wondered if they would work on crickets!

I need some of these!

Last year I tried to buy a pair of “fit flops” which are the flip flops that exercise your legs and butt because of the design. I have never got any because they were on back order and then I forgot about them and then today I was thinking about new running shoes and started to wish for an every-day shoe that would work out my butt and legs and lead me in the direction of “gee you look good for your age” compliments and such. Have you heard of MBT shoes that exercise your legs, butt and stomach muscles? They also claim to lessesn the stress on your back and joints because of better posture. I’m checking into these shoes right now. I’ll take al the help I can get and if I can get healthier, faster, by simply wearing a certain shoe, what’s there to lose? Nothing. Right?

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas

Speaking of Mother’s Day presents, that leads right into Father’s Day which in turn leads right into my wallet. I’ve been debating what the kids should get their father for his day and tools seemed like a boring choice. Now we have our selection down to two choices: a citrus tree for the back yard (the gift that keeps on giving) or a new watch, the gift that keeps you on time for dinner! IWC watches are simply beautiful while maintaining the classic handsomeness necessary for a men’s watch. I’m really torn on this one…

and the kitchen sink too...

There is nothing I covet more right now than a new kitchen sink and faucet. I have asked for one for Christmas the two years since we bought this house. I currently have an el-cheapo-stainless steel sink that rattles the entire counter when the garbage disposal is turned on and if that were not bad enough, I cannot even fill my big spaghetti pot because it won’t fit under the faucet, I have to use my sprayer to fill the big pans. This is a colossal pain in my you know what. I am asking for new Danze faucets for Mother’s day. I think that will make the sink a given. At least, I hope so!

I had been contemplating a change in my personal life, not a big one, just a little something to make my days easier. I want to go to work earlier so I can leave earlier. It's not a difficult concept. Except, boss doesn't come in until ten so I'm supposed to be there until they leave at 5:30 or 6:00. Husband doesn't want to get up and take the kids to school so I can leave home earlier.

I'm talking about one hour. One. Hour. I'd leave an hour earlier to get to work an hour earlier so I can in turn, leave work an hour earlier.

This makes my day easier because 1) I get more work done with bosses gone; 2) I get home at 6:00 p.m. instead of 7:00 p.m. which means 3) dinner is done an hour earlier and 4) the kids see me an hour more and 5) I lose some of the mommy has to go to work guilt.

it doesn't seem that hard really and no one is on board with me on this.