Wordless Wednesday - my, what a big gumball machine you are.

Oh, Blickenstaff's. You had me at Blic.

Side note: she's grown like half a foot in the last year. Totally unacceptable.

Handmade Mondays - painted utensils.

I have a bunch of stuff to donate to DI, and while I'm there I am SO picking up some silverware and doing this. I love the idea. I found it on TipJunkie and love it! Here's the process, from DIY or Dont!.

How to Make:

Materials Needed:
Enamel spray paint
Painters tape
Plastic wrap

Instructions:
1) Take plastic wrap and wrap the end of the silverware that will come in contact with food.
2) Take the painters tape and tape over the plastic wrap at the spot on the utensil where you would like the paint to end.
3) Spray the handles of the silverware.
4) Wait an hour and spray on another coat. Let dry.
5) Flip the utensils and repeat steps 3 and 4 on the back side.

Easy peasy, yes? I really love the way they look. She also suggests finishing them with a clear coat so they are more durable. You can get matte clear in a spray can just in case you want them to have that dull finish. :)

Go see Cars 2! It comes out today and it's freaking adorable.

Punk and I got to go see Cars 2 Monday night at a special screening.

I LOVE IT.

Honestly. It's nothing like the first one. It's funny. And cute. And focuses more on Mater, who I love to bits.

But, I was loving it before the movie even started. You want to know why?

I always love the cute Shorts at the beginning of the Pixar movies. But this one went above and beyond, because it was my Toy Story friends.

LOVED IT! ...sorry, I'll stop with the uppercase.

Cars 2 also brought out a new character, who is super hot. :)

This is Holly. Isn't she a sexy little car?

To wrap this up, Cars 2 isn't one of those sequels where it's exactly like the first one but in a different location (*ahem* Hangover 2 *ahem* not that it's a bad thing because it's still hilarious!). It's got a new plot and new characters and a new setting and you get to visit the world in Cars form. It's really cute. Punk and I both really liked it and it will definitely be one added to the DVD collection. (You heard me right, I said DVD. We're not one of those high class families that has a BluRay player, mmmkay? [Okay, so I know you don't have to be snotty high class to have a BluRay; I just felt like making it sound like that {are you still with me?}.)

PLUS (I thought I was going to stop?) it has a trailer for The Muppets and you all know how excited I am for that movie!

Anyway, really, go see it. You won't regret it. And just in case you somehow missed seeing this...

Wordless Wednesday - video style.

This is my cat, a.k.a. the Devil (see, it's official 'cuz I capitalized the D). Possibly the most entertained I've ever been on a drive home from the dunes.

What to do with kids and what seems like endless days of summer boredom.

I know tons of people out there are making lists for what they want to do with their kids on summer vacation. We don't have an actual written list, but there are things I really want to take Punk to do, like play in the water at The Gateway, and go to the aquarium, and Seven Peaks, and the Great Salt Lake...

I only have weekends to plan for so it's pretty easy to fill the time. If you aren't like me and are one of those 'full-time parents' (say it with a snotty voice, it's fun :), you might be looking for fun things to do while they are on break. Our friends over at Punchbowl are here to help, with a few really fun ideas for the littles! So you can keep them busy instead of them nearly setting the kitchen on fire trying to make shish kabobs in the oven with wooden sticks. Oh, that was just me? Okay then. Anyway... here are a few ideas from Punchbowl.

Stay out of the sun! Old-fashioned indoor activities

There are those inevitable days during the summer where the rain won't stop or it's too hot to be outside for an extended period of time. On those days, turn your house into a neighborhood hotspot by setting up these fun indoor activities that hark from the days before television and video games.

Have an Indoor Picnic: Gather a picnic blanket, basket, plastic plates and forks and serve lunch right on your living room floor. Make a variety of sandwiches, put chips into baggies and cut up a fruit salad and let the kids help themselves. Encourage everyone to tell stories, play "I Spy" or share riddles and jokes.

Play Hide-and-Seek: Organize a game of hide-and-seek with a group of neighborhood kids. Gather everyone in one spot and go over the rules: the seeker counts to one hundred and all the kids go hide (be sure to outline where hiding is acceptable and where it isn't). Set a timer for five minutes. The first child to be found is the next seeker. Count how many kids the seeker finds within five minutes and at the end of the game, the seeker to find the most hiders wins (good "prizes" are dollar store finds like water guns, barrettes, sidewalk chalk, etc.).

Put on a Puppet Show: Set up a craft table with lunch-size paper bags, markers, crayons, yarn, kid-friendly scissors, glue, old buttons, left-over ribbon, pipecleaners, etc. Demonstrate to the kids how to make a puppet using all of these materials and let their creative juices flow. Once the puppets are finished, give them a few minutes to put together a rough outline of their show and set them up behind a couch or chair so only the puppets are showing. Record the show on your smart phone or video camera and let everyone watch (and giggle!) at the finished product.

Want more ideas? Want to stay IN the sun? Check out this post for even more fun ideas for you and your kiddos this summer.

Just for the FTC: I am getting a free membership upgrade to Punchbowl for posting about this. That is all. I still think they are cute ideas, whether or not they gave me anything. Opinions are all mine. So there.

One of my favorite actors + one of my favorite actresses = how could it be bad?

I love Jason Segel. I love Amy Adams. I absolutely love Muppets. I'm excited for this movie!

Oh, weekends. Why did they decide to only make you two days?

Whoever started the weekend thing should have really considered how much more fun they would be than weekdays and made them longer. 4 days of weekend to 3 days of weekday would have been a much better ratio.

We had a yard sale Saturday, pretty decent success. I made the mistake of wearing sleeves and sitting in the sun for four hours, and now I have tan lines where I've been trying so hard NOT TO. Farmer's tan. Lame.

Finally decided to turn the A/C on, just in time for it to be a whopping 65º Sunday. Should've waited.

Yesterday was a pretty good Father's Day. We took Husband's dad with us to my parents for brunch, then hit up Boondocks in the rain. Played laser tag. I think it would have been more fun had I not been wearing a white long-sleeved shirt. I was glowing! Even the two foot tall kid could find me. Still super fun though.

When I was little, we always bought presents for every occasion we could think of but Husband doesn't. It was weird at first but then I realized that I buy myself everything I want, rather than having to wait and hope he buys it for me. It's so much better this way. Plus, when he decides to buy me a present, it rocks my world (see this post for my most recent present, or the Banshee he got me as my engagement present, or the golf cart he bought me for my birthday the first year we were together...)

How spoiled am I? Incredibly.

Because of the way I was raised, I love buying presents for other people. It's super hard to buy for Husband because everything he wants is $4,000+ (a turbo, or a computer for his truck, or a dragster - he's expensive) so I spoil the crap out of the kid. I realized I need to stop after going through her room to find stuff for the yard sale, and she has TONS of clothing she's never worn that's too small. Granted, she's grown like 6 inches this year but still, it's ridiculous. I need to stop buying her things.

Like that's ever happening. I like to buy for other people.

We went and saw Super 8 last night. It's weird. Very typical of J.J. Abrams' other movies, so if you like his style, you'll like it. I liked it but I think it was a little too far 'out there' for Husband.

Punk and I are going to a special movie tonight and she is so excited and I am so excited and I can't wait to share it with you but you're just going to have to wait. :)

Have a good Monday!

Tex Mex chicken. YUMM-O recipe I thought you needed.

In the search for something to make for dinner, I came upon this recipe for Tex Mex chicken and rice bake.

As usual, I cannot follow a recipe without making my own adjustments. But I must say, it was delicious! Good enough that I had it Monday night for dinner, ate the leftovers for lunch yesterday, and would make it again tonight. That good! And it's really, really easy and there are hardly any ingredients. WINNING. So, here's how I made it.

Tex Mex Chicken
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed Cream of Chicken soup
1 1/2 cup Salsa
1 can water (filled the empty soup can)
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can uncooked Minute Rice (filled the empty soup can)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup shredded cheese - I used Monterey Jack but I think it would be delicios with Pepper Jack over the top as well.

Preheat oven to 375º.

Cut your chicken into small pieces (mine were ~2" cubes) and layer on the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.

Mix soup, salsa, water, corn and rice together and pour over the chicken.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 375º for 45 minutes.

When finished, sprinkle with cheese and let it melt. Serve, and love it!

That's it! This fed myself, Husband and his friend with enough left over for my lunch the next day. You could easily double the recipe and still fit it in the 9x13 pan.

To add texture, I crunched up some tortilla chips and poured the Tex Mex chicken over the top, which was pretty yummy if I do say so myself. I also read the suggestion to add taco seasoning to the mixture and then sprinkle it over the top as well; didn't try it because I was out of taco seasoning. :) If you try it, let me know what you think!

Wordless Wednesday - The bittiest little guy ever.

I was going through my Sunday papers when I noticed something moving across the floor. I got in for a closer look, and saw this tiny, itty bitty thing:

CLICK on the picture to get a better view!

Isn't he the littlest praying mantis you ever did see? He was no taller than a pencil eraser is wide. That was the smallest field of vision my camera could get. I didn't have the heart to smash him so I asked him nicely to go back outside where he belongs. :)

Do you ever just want to say, 'screw it, I'm done!'?

If there were ever a point in life where you could choose to use the restart option, now would be my time. I find myself saying 'whatever' to so many things lately. It's like life decided it would be fun to throw a ton of crap on top of me all at once and I've decided I'm not going to kill myself trying to get back to the top.

I know that's pretty vague but it doesn't need to be specific. I think you know how I feel. At least, I hope so! I hope I'm not alone in this feeling. I am just tired of feeling like I am the one putting forth the effort for nothing in return. Why try if things are not going to change for the better? What's the point in putting myself out there to get pushed to the side in return?

There's no point. And that's my point. Good point. Sorry, I just wanted to say point again.

Do you ever get this feeling? Like you just want to tell the entire world to "eff off"?

I lost my cat.

You guys have to know by now, my cat is my baby. I am totally the cat lady. Feel free to throw stray cats at my house as you walk by. (OKAY, maybe not that bad, but still...) I understand this story is only going to make you that much more sure of that fact. I'm still telling it.

A few weeks ago, when it actually started to get a little bit warm in Utah, we were hanging out inside with windows open. Most of the windows in this house don't have screens, for one reason or another. Typically I won't leave windows open unless I'm in that room, simply because Turbo has tried to jump out of them before (yes, two stories up even). On said day, Husband called and said he was in dire need of parts for his truck and asked if I could bring them to him. Not thinking twice about the open windows, I jumped in the car and left.

Fast forward four-ish hours. We get home and it's two hours past the time I normally feed Satan Turbo. Usually he runs to the door and meows. No kitty at the door.

I went inside and called for him; no response. I started searching the house and could not find him. I walked into the kitchen and noticed the open window.

Shit.

I frantically searched every room in the house, praying he was somewhere to be found but nope, no kitty. At that point I was nearing hysteria. We literally live a parking lot away from Main Street, the busiest street in our cute little city. Not to mention, Turbo is not an outside kitty. I take him on walks on a leash; that's about as hardcore as he gets. I ran outside and told Husband I lost the cat, and ever-so-reassuringly, he says, "is he on Main Street?" Thanks, hun. But he grabbed a flashlight and started looking for him with me. I was in tears at this point (you would have thought someone shot my own Mother or something), running through our yard, picking up things he could be hiding under, with every second edging me closer to being fully confident he's dead or stolen.

What seemed like three hours later but was probably realistically only five minutes, I hear Husband yell, "he's over here!" I find Turbo under our neighbor's gigantic pine tree, scared as all get out, and apparently pissed at the world. I tried to grab him and pick him up, but he freaked out and hissed like a wild cat and injected all 20 claws into the flesh of my arms. I'm crying and telling my cat, "I'm so sorry!" (like he cares) and he's doing everything in his power to get away from this horrible devil woman who basically shoved him into the wild unknown (even though he chose to jump out the window).

I was literally hysterical. Honestly, you would have thought my entire family had been killed off by hoodlums while I stood watch. It was ridiculous. But now I think back on it and from the outside, it's pretty funny. Probably more funny to me since I was there, but funny nonetheless.

If you're still here, I'm proud of you for sticking it out. I'm not even sre this story has a point.

Oh yah - if you have a pet that likes to climb out windows, don't leave the windows open. Moral of the story right there, kids. And you don't even have to decipher it.

Have a good weekend!

Quest for Zhu - the trailer!

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before but we are BIG ZhuZhu fans in our house. Really, all Punk asked for for her birthday was fake nails, clothes, and more ZhuZhu Pets stuff. They are so cute and they do the funniest things. Plus, they don't stink or poop. Win, win! And, Turbo thinks he is the Godzilla of ZhuZhu world and attacks the poor little creatures as they try to climb the tubes... it's hilarious.

Anyway, ZhuZhu Pets are coming out with a full-length film featuring the four original ZhuZhu Pets characters (Pipsqueak, Mr. Squiggles, NumNums and Chunk). It's set to debut this fall in 3D (of course). Here's a trailer if you would like to watch:

My Fotolia.com review

As you may or may not remember, Fotolia.com came to me to and asked me to review their site for free for a month. I gladly accepted, seeing it as an opportunity to build my library of fun pictures and images and vectors that you can't get on Google. :)

What did I think? It was cool. It took me a bit to get used to how the site works, but after that short learning curve, things were peachy. I filled my cart up with backgrounds and fonts and images and all sorts of fun things to use for my own personal stuff. It was great! They have a huge variety of pictures and videos and vector graphics to satisfy the needs of anyone, really.

They have the option to buy a subscription, or just buy on a download-to-download basis. I've never used other subscription sites, so I am not sure how their pricing compares, but it's right on their site so you know what you're paying upfront.

Want free stuff? Hit up their Facebook page and become a fan, and get access to their free images area. Or, to try their site out, I've got a code you can use. Simply click here and enter the code CMSB55E8 and you should be all set.

Like I said earlier, I did get a month's subscription for free to try out their site. But my opinions are my own and not influenced by the free aspect.

I function better when I've got a lot on my to-do list.

So I'm amping it up.

Starting today, I am going to try to do more with my time. I can do it; I know I can. I just have to set my mind to it.

I'm going to update both my boutique blog and my scrapbook blog. Let's set that goal at weekly.

I'm going to take pictures and post new listings in both my boutique shop and my craft supply shop. This is something that needs to be done daily, at least once.

I'm going to build the website for Husband's company (you can see it here if you're interested). I'm also going to create and maintain an inventory list for said company.

I'm going to blog. I cannot promise anything, but I am going to try at least three times a week as my commitment. I think that's reasonable.

My house is going to stay clean. In all honesty, this is the easiest task on my list. I don't hate cleaning. But I am going to make a list of things that need to be done that aren't necessarily easy or fun (scrub the baseboards, wash the windows inside and out, clean the insides of drawers and cupboards) and do one a week.

I am going to cook at least four times a week. It doesn't seem like that much but it is. What's the point of building my own personal store in the basement if we still eat out all the time? Duh.

After all that, I've got to make more "me" time. Even if it's just sitting down and making bows, or scrapbooking, I've got to do it. I've got to get myself out of this weird funk I've been in lately. That's high on the priority list.

I have to write it down so I feel the pull to actually do it. I downloaded a task list on my phone but I don't see it all the time so it's easy to forget. So, here I go. Wish me luck.

Parades are boring. I don't know if you knew.

I cannot remember for the life of me why I thought parades were cool when I was little. They are actually incredibly boring. Punk walked/danced through a parade yesterday and I sat in the sun behind some of the most obese people I've ever personally seen in my life. Good times.

I really wonder if people realize what they are doing to their children. This family of four put away a 12" sub and three dozen donuts BEFORE 10AM! Jeepers. I wonder why you have to buy the camp chairs that are made for two people for just yourselves. Please stop while your kids still have a chance to correct their eating habits.

We spent the rest of the day at the carnival. That was pretty fun, but some random little girl that got put in our spinning strawberry ruined the day for us. She was the fountain of vomit that looked like cat food. Some sort of miracle from above was all that kept my lunch down (I am a sympathy puker [just another reason I don't want a baby {and no, it's not different when it's your own kid when you are as bad as I am, promise}]). We were done after that.

It's finally starting to feel like summer; yesterday was 80º+ and sunny and beautiful. My arms are sunburnt. Just my arms.

Punk's last day of school was Friday, and it's her last day with her friends there because they moved. She came out and got in the car, and I looked back, and she was just sobbing. Poor thing. I never had to move schools when I was little, but I did have friends that moved, and that was hard enough.

I am so glad she still chooses to hold my hand. I thought for sure that would be over and gone, but not quite yet. Also, I'm not ready for her to turn 10 this week. I'm just NOT ready.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine has been pretty great so far, other than being in the car for what feels like 5 hours. Oh wait, it was 5 hours. Alrighty then. Have a good Sunday and a wonderful week. I'll be trying to figure out what to get a soon-to-be 10-year-old who already owns everything.

My coupon post, for the month of May.

Total retail value of dollars spent in April: $598.74
Total actual dollars spent in April: $349.78
Overall savings: $248.96 or 42%

I feel like there is some sort of pattern in my shopping. 42% saved for the last two months. LOL

I don't feel as good about May as I did about April, since it was my second month and savings didn't improve. BUT, I definitely spent less time - probably 6 hours total for the month. I am completely stocked (at least 6 months out) on toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, shampoo, conditioner, tampons, pasta, pickles, body wash, lotion, razors and laundry detergent. That's pretty good! At this point, I know I can wait out the deals until they really hit rock bottom so the savings should really improve for June.

My goal for June is no more than $200 out of pocket for the entire month. Our stock is pretty built up so it shouldn't be hard to eat out of it quite a bit. All I really will need to buy at this point is chicken and things that go bad quickly (milk, bread, etc.)

Wait... what was that? It's WHOSE birthday?

I love you like a sister. Oh... wait... you are my sister. Scratch that. I love you forever! I flirted with that old, sorta creepy dude so you could ride in his Shelby. Your FIRST ride in the car you were named after! That's got to count for something, right? I'll always be here for you, and I know the same goes the other way around. I get you and you get me like no one else. And I can interpret you for other people.

We'll always have the crab dance. :D

See you for lunch, biatch!

Today is I Love My Dentist day. It's also National Rocky Road day. Go figure.

I don't like chocolate ice cream, or chocolate cake for that matter. Is that weird? And whose idea was it to make it I Love My Dentist day AND National Rocky Road day on the same day? Here, dentist, I love you but I'm rotting my teeth out eating ice cream with hard chunks in it. Just for you. Muah.

I actually really like my dentist. He's a little crazy and it makes it more fun going in. Plus he makes fun of my messed up mouth, which is awesome. Seriously though, good dentists are hard to find. We went to this one dentist who thought he was God's gift to dentists and I wanted to hit him every time we went in. He was awful.

It's Thursday today which means tomorrow is Friday and also Shibrolet's birthday and she is SO OLD! She's going to pass me up here soon.

I am going to mow the lawn today. For the first time ever. EVER. That was my Dad's chore when I was growing up and so I never learned how but since I don't work I figured it was only right of me to maybe get out there and mow but, like I said, I don't know how; and I have this irrational fear of cutting one of my feet off. Weird?

I LOVE babies. LOVE them. As long as they aren't permanently mine. We have a new nephew and he is adorable and he loves me, and I love that I can give him back when he stinks. It's the perfect scenario. Now if my bestie Dot (name changed to protect the innocent) would just hurry her pregnancy along I would be grateful. I cannot wait to find out what she's having because then I can start planning the shower and also making gifts and it can't come fast enough.

Over on another site I hang out at, we are talking about favorite ice cream flavors and I just wanted to tell you all to head to ColdStone, get either amaretto or sweet cream ice cream, and add maraschino cherries and cookie dough. Just do it. It's so good. Or hit up SubZero and get sour watermelon ice cream with mini marshmallows.

I need ice cream so bad right now it's killing me. Seriously, if there were any ice cream places open this minute, I would already be there. Oh, send help. It's going to be a rough day.

Nothing to do this weekend? How about going to see Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer?

You can enter to win passes to an advance screening of Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, and keep your kid (it's only a two-pass, sorry!) happy for at least a couple of hours this Saturday. Here's how:

Details: Enter to win an admit 2 pass to see JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER by texting the word TOTALLY and your ZIP CODE to 43549 (Example Text: TOTALLY 80246)! You can enter once per cell number, so send in a text from all the phones in your household!

WHEN: Enter to win by Thursday, June 2. You will be notified by Friday, June 3 at 4PM if you are a winner. The screening will be held on Saturday, June 4 at 10AM in Salt Lake City.

WHERE: Winners will be notified which Salt Lake City theater

WHAT: Special advance screening of JUDY MOODY AND THE NOT BUMMER SUMMER! Here's more about the movie:

When her best-laid plans for a summer full of fun go comically awry, an imaginative young girl creates her own vacation adventures in Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer. Based on the beloved, bestselling book series by Megan McDonald, Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer is an irresistible and delightfully funny treat for adventure-loving kids and adults.

This summer, Judy Moody is planning the most super-duper, double-rare summer vacation ever with best friends Rocky and Amy. Except that it turns out Rocky is going to circus camp to learn to tame lions, and Amy is headed off to Borneo with her mom to save a lost tribe while Judy stays home with her pesky little brother Stink and second-best friend Frank Pearl.

Just when she thinks things are as rotten as they can be, her parents announce that they will be going to California and Judy will have to stay behind with her Aunt Opal, who she’s never even met! It looks like Judy’s best summer ever has just become her way worst summer ever.

But feisty, fearless and ever-funny Judy Moody never gives up! With help from some unexpected sources, she’s headed for a summer full of surprises in this charming and spirited family film. Get ready, get set, get MOODY!

Opens nationwide on Friday, June 10th!