Archive | Uncategorized RSS feed for this section

San Jose: Day 3 Though 5

11 Aug

So, I’ve been working like a crazy woman, so I haven’t been able to post much. This is going to be short and sweet with a bunch of photos for you to enjoy! I’ve included photos of the basketball court and original SKYPE house that I wrote about on Day 2. You’ll also find a photo of Yankee Pier, the restaurant I ate at on Tuesday evening on Santana Row.

Santana Row is a wonderful shopping district, and the restaurant served fresh seafood. I got fish tacos, and they were so yummy.

On Thursday afternoon, I headed to the Winchester Mansion. This woman in the 1800’s built the most amazing mansion with 160 rooms including 40 bedrooms. She lived a very sad live … thinking ghosts were haunting her since her husband created the Winchester gun. So, this woman built a confusion home that made no sense at all (a door that leads to nothing, a cabinet that is four room longs, a room put together with glue) to confuse the ghosts. It was pretty amazing to see.

eBay Basketball Court

Original SKYPE House

Yankee Pier on Santana Row

 

Winchester Mansion

And that’s life in a nutshell … sometimes the craziness of life just doesn’t allow for creativity!

MommaNut

Tags: , , , ,

American “Doggy” Idol

22 Jul

I’m a huge country-music fan. And no, it is not just about your dog dying, losing your job and what not. There are some really great songs if you guys would give it a chance. I think I may have even converted PoppaNut into a country lover, thanks to Zac Brown Band and their amazing song, “Toes.”

I’ve listened to country music all my life. I remember sitting under the dining-room table as a child, listening to my parents playing Euchre with the sweet sounds of Randy Travis and John Prime in the background. So, you can only imagine my excitement when I learned I could pass on my love of country music to my two nuts: Peanut and Cashew.

Yes, you heard right! The Loews Hotel in Nashville allows you to have your pup cut a CD in a professional recording session. Could Peanut be the next Dolly “Paw” Parton and Cashew the next Darius “Ruff” Rucker. We could have two furry stars on our hands, and we don’t even know it yet.

The hotel offers a limo shuttle (of course the dogs have to arrive to the studio in style to show the other dogs how they roll). Once situated in the studio, your pup will work with a voice coach, and howl along with a musician or bark to their favorite karaoke tune. I wonder what selections they have: “Who Let the Dogs Out” or another song by BowWow? With it being in Nashville, I have to hope some country makes the list.

I’m seeing an American “Doggy” Idol coming on …

And that’s life in a nutshell … you learn about something new every day, and most of the time, it gives me a giggle. This one certainly did.

MommaNut

Tags: , , , , ,

Blast from the Past

11 Jul

Punching Game

PoppaNut and I are pretty much homebodies. We like to stay in, watch movies, play games and just hang out most weekends. It is our chance to sit back, relax and enjoy the life we have created for ourselves.

But every once in a while, we mix it up! And that’s exactly what happened on Saturday night, much to our surprise. We decided to head out to dinner to Chili’s on Saturday night. As we walked into the bar area, we saw two friends: Sam and Kelly. Sam was a groomsmen in our wedding, and Sam and Kelly are good friends. But as life gets busy, you can lose touch with people. And that’s exactly what happened.

So, it was such a nice surprise to see them at Chili’s. We ate our dinner, catching up with them between each bite. After that, we decided to head to a local bar for some good ole bar games: the bowling game and the punching game.

The Bowling Game

Now, I used to be a pro at the bowling game. PoppaNut and I would play it all the time, and we would both get strike after strike. Well, it seems I have lost my touch, because I played TERRIBLE. But, it was fun none the less.

PoppaNut had his eye on the punching game as soon as we walked in the door, so we headed there next. With tons of singles in hand, PoppaNut pumped that machine full of money and went on a punching roll. In fact, he beat the high score!

All in all, we had a great night. It was so fun seeing Sam and Kelly again, and mixing things up by heading out to the bar on a Saturday night.

And that’s life in a nutshell … be open to where life takes you. You never know when you could end up having the time of your life with the one you love and a punching game. 🙂

MommaNut

Tags: , , , , ,

CT: July 4th Weekend

6 Jul

PoppaNut and I love surprises, so when my sister-in-law’s birthday came up, we knew we had a chance to surprise the heck out of her. PoppaNut and I boarded a plane in Tampa and arrived late Thursday night in Connecticut. Stacy, my sister-in-law, had NO IDEA we were there. Her hubby Chris picked us up and snuck us into the house, where PoppaNut jumped on Stacy’s bed for the big surprise. The video of the surprise is classic!

The next few days were super fun and we stayed busy for most of it. Let’s see if I can remember all the great things we did. Friday led us to a country-breakfast diner, where we ate everything in sight! I had a cheese omelet and PoppaNut had the Tower of Power (cinnamon french toast) and an omelet too. After that, we headed to Six Flags. Kayla and Karissa went on every death-defying rollercoaster with us! In fact, they had to talk me on most of them. I don’t remember these rides being so scary!

That evening, I straightened the girls’ hair as they prepared for a boy/girl party. We ate AMAZING pizza, had a few drinks and hung out together. Casey and John came by as well, and it was great catching up with them. Saturday was a cookout day, so Stacy and I headed to the store to pick up some food. As Christopher yelled “Habba Babba” to everyone he saw, Stacy taught me how to pick out corn and we shared our favorite recipes. I drove the jumbo, car-designed cart and almost ran into every person I passed. 🙂 It was fun!

Chris made homemade salsa, and I swear I ate a pound of it! I don’t have the recipe, but maybe Chris will share it with me some day. We cooked out that night, and watched PoppaNut and Chris almost burn down the pool with out-of-control fireworks.

The next morning, we headed to Collins, a farm that serves homemade ice cream. You can watch the cows graze by the nearby corn fields as you scarf down your S’Mores ice-cream cone! Now, that’s living.

We had such a great time that it was very hard to leave. See the photos for yourself!

Kayla and Karissa

 

My Breakfast

 

Kayla at Six Flags

 

PoppaNut and Stacy

The Habba Babba King

 
 

And that’s life in a nutshell … spending time with your family is the best way to spend a holiday.

MommaNut

Tags: , , , ,

Misconceptions about Facials

14 Jun

PoppaNut recently went in for a deep-tissue massage at Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, and he signed us up for the membership package. Basically, you can get a signature facial or massage every month as part of this membership. If you forget to get your treatment during the month, you can get two treatments the next month. GLORIOUS!

My New Face Wash

I immediately made my appointment for a facial. I’m turning 30 soon, and I think I should be taking better care of my skin … and the facial expert seems to agree. Here are the five lessons I learned during my treatment.

1. There Is a Decade Effect: Whatever you did to your skin in your 20s shows up in your 30s and whatever you do to your skin in your 30s will show up in your 40s. Man, can a girl catch a break? I wasn’t thinking about my skin in my 20s! I could literally go to bed with a face full of makeup, touch it up the next morning and head out of the house. Now, I need a skin-care regime.
 
2. Pillowcases Are the Devil: My esthetician asked me how often I change my pillowcase, and I said once every two weeks. You would have thought I told her that I kill small children for fun by the look on her face. She was mortified! She said, “Think of all the filth that comes off your face when you are sleeping, and you wait 14 days to change the pillowcase? You have got to start changing those more frequently.” Needless to say, PoppaNut and I slept on freshly cleaned sheets that very night.

 

3. Sunscreen Is Not Always Good: When asked what type of moisturizer I use, I said some generic kind with SPF, and I wear it every day. I was actually proud sharing this fact, because I thought I got this one right for sure. No one can get down on me about my skin, because I wear sunscreen religiously. I was wrong. I had failed this question too. You should never wear sunscreen at night … duh! Whatever is in the moisturizer to keep your skin healthy is basically destroyed by the SPF (I’m not a dermatologist so if you want the real meat and potatoes of this, you’ll have to seek out a professional). So, get a good night cream so you won’t embarrass yourself during your facial.

My Aveeno Moisturizer

4. Don’t Touch Your Face: I have heard this rule before, but I didn’t take it that seriously. Do people really take it to the extreme and say they can never touch their face again? Apparently, they do. My esthetician said to use a knuckle if I needed to touch my face. Oh, that looks so natural … I’m sure no one at work will give me a funny look as I dab my face with my knuckle or the back of my hand. I’m still resistant on this one, but in the interest of full disclosure, I wanted to pass the tip along. Do what you will with it.

5. It’s Time to Upgrade: I’m a sucker for a sales pitch, because as soon as I heard all the things I was doing wrong with my skin, I headed to the nearest Walgreen’s to stock up. I got new cleanser, toner and moisturizer. I’m going to get this right if it is the last thing I do. After all, what you do in your 30s catches up to your skin in your 40s, and I want to be looking good! I learned that my old Clean & Clear is full of alcohol so it was actually drying my skin out. My new products are working GREAT, and I think I can tell a difference.

And that’s life in a nutshell … learning that getting a facial is a lot like getting a cleaning at the dentist; they tell you everything you are doing wrong, but you feel good after you leave.

MommaNut

Tags: , , , , , ,

Newer Entries →