[ have you ever heard of GROUPON? ]

sooooooo... i went to longwood gardens recently with my lovely friend theresa. i love it there...

anyway... theresa calls me up & says had i ever heard of 'groupon' because the deal today is tickets to longwoods garden half price, but you have to go in august.

http://www.groupon.com

no i hadn't, the deals sound great!! in their words this is how it works:

http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2112924

but it's not limited to the states... there's lots of other countries too.


BRILLIANT!!

dragonfly @ longwood gardens

[ key heart attack! ]

sooooooo... my boys, oscar 4 & flynn 2, & i took our beautiful husky, lennon, to be groomed at petsmart today. this dog is a hair machine!! it is literally coming out in clumps & it seems the more i brush him the more fur he generates!! i read somewhere that huskies fur can be spun & used for knitting. http://www.vipfibers.com/

i wish i could find someone that wanted it ~ or maybe i should blow the dust off my knitting needles & have a go... there's probably a few horrified faces out there thinking nooooo... not you knitting again!! i get a bit obsessive, not to mention frustrated when it doesn't come out right!! i remember knitting the whole way back on a flight from the usa to the uk & getting told to put my needles away for landing... the stewardess literally had to rip them out of my hands!!!

anyway anyway anyway... we drop off lennon. i remember putting my water & keys down on the counter to sign the waiver.

then the boys & i walked to home goods... (not a fan, i can never find anything i want in there). then onto best buy. we are all getting hungry so i say to the boys lets go get some lunch! that suggestion was greeted by a very enthusiastic response! i look in my bag & YIKES!!!! no car keys!! holy moly!! oh no no no...

ok ~ lets keep calm & retrace our steps... i start back at petsmart... i can imagine my keys on the counter so vividly i'm convinced they are there. so when i'm told that no you didn't leave them here i kind of find it hard to believe.... i'm trying to do sneaky looking behind the counter to check they're not there!

after she tells me for the third time they are not here... i can't think of anything else to say & have to leave... my heart sank... what if someone else picked them up by mistake. great ~ i'm about to have to camp out at the mall with 2 hungry boys & a groomed husky....

oscar says he has an idea!! EXCELLENT, things are looking up!!

oscar: mom don't worry... why don't you phone up dad & ask to borrow his car. ay ay good idea right??

me: well... the thing is daddy is at work & we don't have anyway of getting there... (checking my bag for the 497th time i suddenly realize i left my phone in the car...) er... there's a slight flaw in your plan oscar... mommy left the phone in the car...

great ~ i'm about to have to camp out at the mall with 2 hungry boys,  a groomed husky.... & no phone!!

okay okay... we go next to home goods... i'm not holding out much hope at all...

i see a store assistant, stop her & ask if anyone has handed in any keys... she very uninterestedly (is that a word?? well it is now!) didn't even stop walking & informed me i had to ask the lady wearing red... i'd just like to say thank you to that shop assistant... your care & concern really truly left me feeling warm & fuzzy!!

the lady wearing red was working at the returns desk that had a line of about 5 people... i stand in line for what seems like hours waiting to be put out of my misery... i try to stop myself going crazy thinking about 1 million ways of surviving living in a mall! maybe twe'll get made into a film ~ like that guy that lived in the airport!! i'm also trying to think what are we going to do if i can't find the keys... it's the only car key i have!!!

i'm having to listen to all these excuses why people had brought things back. i don't know why we have to come up with explanations... shouldn't it be enough that we are here with the receipt??

anyway... things are feeling more grim... i see another cashier open so i scoot over to her & pleadingly ask her if anyone has handed in any keys???? she replies yes!!! i follow her over to a drawer which she opens & pulls out my keys!!! cue hallelujah chorus!!!

i could have kissed that lady!! ...but i didn't!! i did thank her about 32 times though!!

then we all went skipping back to the car!! got to get more car keys!!

[ cookie monster... om nom nom nom! ]

sooooooo... whilst driving along in the car this morning, my older son, oscar, whose 4, totally out of the 'blue' asks:

oscar: mommy why is the cookie monster blue?

me (thinking really hard to come up with a good answer... but failing miserably!) : mmmmm ~ you know what, i'm not sure why...don't you think he should be blue then?

oscar: no way...

me: why not?? what color do you think he should be?

oscar: well he eats cookies... so he should be brown

me: oh... so you think people should be the colors that they eat?

oscar: yes

me: well what color are you then?

oscar: yellow because i like pizza... & you should be green because you like salad.

me: mmmmm... would i stay green?

oscar: no after you've eaten for a while you'd go back... i hope.  i like that because i like seeing all sorts of different colored people

me: phewy ~ i don't fancy staying green

oscar: but then if you eat carrots you'd turn orange

me: now this would come in handy when i ask who ate all the cookies!! oooo... but not so handy if it was me!

'me want cookie!', 'me eat cookie!'

[ detox diet...! part 2 ]

sooooooo...this has been the first week after we we finished the detox diet.

~just to recap, my husband mike & i went on a detox diet to rid our bodies of unhealthy junk & use this experience as a springboard to eating more healthily.

the diet consisted of cutting out wheat, caffeine, alcohol, sugar, dairy & meat.

mike lost a total of 14lbs!! we don't have any accurate scales at home so i have no idea how much i lost but my stretchy sweat pants aren't skin tight anymore!! YES!! ...i hear america signing with relief too!!

we both feel SO much more healthy!! i can sleep all night! all night... i haven't been able to do that since i can remember & unless you have trouble sleeping you won't understand how wonderful that is!! my anxiety has disappeared!!

mike feels he can concentrate much better & is more focused.

we both found week one hard. for me it was lack of energy. for mike it was the feeling hungry & really missing coffee toast & meat.

by week two though i didn't really crave anything anymore.

what shocked us most was the amount of rubbish that is put into everything that can possibly be added to! i thought i was being healthy eating dried apricots but until i went on this diet i had never checked the ingredients ~ dried apricots, sulfur dioxide & potassium sorbate!! lovely!!

i found some organic ones in 'whole foods' that are just apricots ~ so now i understand that the other ingredients are to keep their color, but they are just as tasty in a fruitcake kind of way!

what surprised us the most was all the alternatives that are out there! it's like we've discovered a secret club or something! you can eat really tasty healthy food! & because it's more expensive you keep the portions under control more. it's made us open our eyes to what we are allowing into our bodies.

the first night after the diet we had organic chicken & it tasted sooooooo good!!

tonight we had grass fed organic steak & i don't think i'm saying this because we haven't eaten beef in  ages... but it was the best piece of steak i can ever remember eating ever!!

i can thoroughly recommend doing this diet, don't forget the supplements from 'whole foods' for a full body cleanse.

some reading:


http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/dietarytherapy/a/Detox_Diet_Plan.htm

[ FREE DELICIOUS CHIPS GIVEAWAY!! ]

sooooooo... the lovely chip company (food should taste good) that I blogged about recently is giving 3 free bags of their delicious tortilla chips to give away to two lucky people!! HOORAY!!

they are made from the highest quality, all-natural ingredients baked into the chips. all chip varieties are gluten free, cholesterol and trans fat free, and do not use genetically modified ingredients (GMOs).  they are also certified kosher, lower in sodium, and are a good source of dietary fiber.  the chips are available in ten varieties: multigrain, sweet potato, olive (my favorites!!), jalapeño, the works!, chocolate (yes chocolate!!), lime, yellow corn, blue corn and cheddar.

here’s how to win these TASTY TREATS!!

A ‘CHIP off the old block’ COMPETITION!

have you ever heard your child, niece, nephew, cousin, friend’s child etc etc repeating your words at the worst possible time? OR what is the most embarrassing thing said by them in public (or maybe in shared public bathroom stall). OR have you ever heard them repeat a story you told & get it completely wrong yet hilarious?

please email me the details by august 1st:

piestar@rocketmail.com 

& an independent panel of wackos will select the funniest stories to be retold in my future blogs ~ let me know if you want to stay anonymous!! the 2 that make us laugh the most will win the chips!

let the shenanigans begin!

            

[ the circus is in town! ]

sooooooo... my lovely friend jenn informs me the circus is coming, wanna go? i ask my boys, 2 & 4, & got a very positive response!

lets do it! jenn is very organised & set the whole thing up all i had to do is meet her at her house... perfect.

oscar (4): i LOVE the circus ~ it's round. is it bigger than daddy? a train picks it up & drives it to town. are there going to be lions?

flynn (2): & dinosaurs?

oscar: elephants & horses? ~ mum say yes!

having been bitten a few times now by saying yes to something i definitely thought was going to be somewhere so i tried to be super vague...

oscar: & nincompoops? (oscars new word!)

well now i can say with all certainty that there will absolutely be one or two of them!!

we follow jenn & i keep saying to the boys look out for the big top! we arrive at the sun center... wait a minute, it's indoors??!

we drive in line to park passing protesters & the penny started to drop... i had just thought of the whole adventure through the eyes of my boys & had somehow forgotten about the 'real' stuff... not sure how i did this, but i am very tired ok!!

mmmm... well we are here, we have our tickets & very excited little people ~ if i'm going to get all moral should have done that before involving them.

felt like there should have been protesters for the price of lemonade too!! well the beer was cheaper ~ phewy!! i did make the mistake of having a mouth full of trenton water at it's finest from the water fountain... now that's just wrong!

there were some really cringe worth moments... a very very bendy lady with a large boob job ~ was waiting for one to pop! a stick of a girl in very akward positions with a heavy man balancing on her. but like my husband, mike, pointed ~ the circus is a freak show!

there were tigers having whips cracked at them by a very smiley guy with a super sized ego...

but... i have to say ~ i do feel very guilty for going for the animal side of it & feel i need to use this blog as a confession!! sorry elephnats... i've been too scared to read the flier i was handed outside ~ i saw mike scanning it with tight lips... so it must be really bad. http://www.circuses.com/ringling.asp

why can't they make the circus animal free? there's all that technology

oscar's eyes couldn't open wide enough! that was lovely to see.

& now i have to do the clown song on a regular basis.... you know the one ~ & most of the time it's very appropriate!

[ rave: food should taste good ~ tortilla chips ]

sooooooo... as you know my husband, mike, & i are on a detox diet. one of the things we can't eat is wheat.


mike went to wegmans on his way home yesterday & returned with a bag of olive tortilla chips from a company called 'food should taste good'.

these are certified gluten free & all natural so i really didn't hold out much hope. i imagined myself eating them like the cookie monster but without his enjoyment & enthusiasm.

while i was cooking dinner mike urged me to try one & i thought i'll get to them eventually.

well... i did & i couldn't put them down ~ they are by far the nicest, tastiest tortilla chip i have ever tasted even with the gluten!! i'm SO impressed! i urge you all to try them, you can get a $1 off coupon at their website. www.foodshouldtastegood.com

[ detox diet...! part 1 ]

sooooooo... i don't sleep well & the last week my tummy has been hurting...

me being me (rarely do things by halves)  i decide to go on a detox diet to eliminate all the bad stuff from my body! & hopefully start some new good habits...woo hoo!

i mention this to my husband mike & i'm shocked at his enthusiasm to join me... i read aloud all the stuff we'll be unable to eat & he's fine with it!! okey dokey then!

i purchase a box each of 'complete body cleanse' from whole foods & away we go.

basically FOR TWO WEEKS ~ I REPEAT TWO WEEKS!! we are not allowed any additives, dairy, meat, wheat, alcohol, sugar, caffeine

we ARE allowed as much fresh/frozen fruit & vegetables as we want. olive oil, vinegar, salt, spices, rice, beans (ok i know that's a vegetable!!) & have to drink lots of water

mike announces that not only will he be on this diet with me... he is also going to give up smoking... i'm thinking ~ oh lord! hope our marriage is strong enough!!!

day 1:
9 am ~ so far so good.
11am ~ ring mike, he's starving ~ so am i!!!
noon ~ mike has caved on the smoking front... (thank goodness! for sake of all humanity! that & the diet is too much for anyone to handle!!)

day 2:
mike & i were watching tv & the adverts for these enormous bacon cheeseburgers dripping in delicious fat are killing us!!

i'm starting to worry that i'll start imagining mike as a steak, (like the lion in madagascar)

i'm AMAZED at the additives & sugar that put in almost EVERYTHING!! i'm having trouble finding things without stuff in. must have spent an hour in wegmans reading labels!!

day 3:
not feeling very energetic at all & have a minging headache all day.
poo is getting a lot softer!
love bananas!


day 4:
tummy gurgling a bit, have gone for very loose poos several times & am too scared to fart!!

thank god for whole foods!! (we're going to be bankrupt though!!!) why have i not paid that much attention to this store before. probably because it's so expensive, or i wasn't so desperate to be able to find foods that aren't pumped with junk.

day 5:
back at whole foods...

even the boys love the pizza there!

got to say found some 'fettucini' that's made of brown rice & it's delicious!!! even though most common objects are looking yummy at the moment.

day 6:
mike asked if the food looks the same going out as it did going in can he consider himself detoxed?

made a really yummy bolognese with quorn... as a meat eater you would be hard pushed to tell that that wasn't meat. looked up what quorn is & it is very good for you... only a few people may get an allergic reaction, which comes out sort of like food poisoning... gulp!!

20 minutes later so far so good though

day 7: HALFWAY!!
ate tofu for the first time!! (& probably last) ~  no i should be more open minded about it & give it another go!

mike has lost 6lbs!!! YEAH!!!

7 more days to go!

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD ANY COMMENTS OR ADVICE

[ laundry hazard!! ]

sooooooo... you would not believe what happened to me today!! i put a load of washing on, it was whites so i didn’t have very many in there! actually when the boys started karate i was really worried how i was going to keep the suits white!

i put the detergent in the cup & dropped it in the top loader. it hit the bottom & sent up a jet of soap. that wouldn’t have been bad if it hadn’t gone straight in my eye!!! oh & it stung!! i rushed upstairs & stuck my eye under the kitchen tap. i rinsed, splashed even got a shot glass filled that with water (sadly!!) & stuck that on my eye.

it burned & burned... i remembered there was an eye doctor about a block away... so i grabbed the boys & drove round. they were really lovely!

when the doctor looked in my eye with the light  all i could see was my veins!! she said it was burn’t! this was eco stuff too!! if it wasn’t i think i’d be shopping for an eye patch!

unbelievable! it’s really weird my eye is so dry, then i put drops in & it’s dry again in 2 seconds!!

this would never happen to bono or ray charles!!

[ missing missy ]

sooooooo... my lovely design friend, helen, sent me this. i don't normally read though these but this one is particularly funny!!


http://www.27bslash6.com/missy.html

[ scared face! ]

sooooooo... i took my boys to sesame place. oscar, 4, wants to ride the roller coaster. unfortunately mommy will do many many things but roller coasters don't make the list! fortunately we had gone with my lovely friend theresa, who bares no fear & very kindly takes my son on the ride.

i look at the ride in full swing & oscar looks really scared!!

but he says he had a GREAT time!

i reminded him today of the event:

ME: oscar... you looked a bit scared on the roller coaster ride.

OSCAR: no mom! i wasn't scared! that was my fast face!

[ a phone, a phone... my kingdom for a phone! ]

sooooooo...i went for a pedicure (which i have to say i hardly ever do). my husband drops me off & as i'm shutting the door i say i'll call you when i'm done. as soon as i let go of the door i knew my phone was in the cup holder inside. i chase the car yelling but like these things seem to pan out... no one heard.

so i go for my pedicure... i thought it was funny when the lady doing my toes put her glasses on to paint! so for all the cutting & plucking etc etc she couldn't see properly!! excellent!!!

i leave & am lost!!! no phone!! wow ~ i'm amazed at how much we rely on these objects. what do i do now ~ i mean i can't ask a stranger to borrow theirs to make a call... because my feet have been rubbed in lotion i 'skate'  in my flip flops to customer service & ask if there are any 'public' phones (who knows if such devices still exist!)

the lady at the desk has to stop her personal call to direct me to the where they are in their rightful place right outside the toilets!!! i speed skate there & look at the device as if it is some foreign object. i see that i'll need 50¢ so i pull out everything in my bag to find the right amount in coins... a mountain of junk later i proceed to pick up the receiver. i've got to say it was a really yukky feeling having to press it next to my ear. i dial my husband's number & oh what a surprise a voice came on saying this number can not be completed as dialed & i'm taking your money!!

UNBELIEVABLE!!!! i try again & the same message. no money given back... the phone might as well have burped!!!! i  went straight into the toilets to wash my hands & ear!!! thinking about it (before everyone had a mobile) i used to spend hours on those phones!! in phone booths!!! & not bat an eye lid! wow!! i must be turning into a germaphobe in my old age!!

luckily my husband rang me & came found me when he realized what i'd done. but seriously!! how do people manage without a mobile? i know that both my mom & dad don't have one. or... maybe life is just easier that way!!

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse

Meaning

One of Shakespeare's best known lines. The quotation is sometimes now repeated ironically when someone is is need of some unimportant item.

an exclamation from the play King Richard the Third , by WilliamShakespeare; the king cries out, “A horse! A horse! My kingdomfor a horse!” after his horse is killed in battle, leaving him at themercy of his enemies.

CATESBY:
Rescue, my Lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue!
The king enacts more wonders than a man,
Daring an opposite to every danger:
His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death.
Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!

KING RICHARD III:
A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!

CATESBY:
Withdraw, my lord; I'll help you to a horse.