Today the spoils of Prime Days have started to show up!!! We’ll be getting a steady stream of packages over the next week or so, which is always exciting. I definitely took advantage of Prime Days this year to stock my pantry. Consequently, it will save me a lot of money over the next few months. This, of course, will be helpful as the Mayor is starting Junior hockey next month. For the uninitiated, junior hockey ramps the cost up from “an arm and a leg” (cost of youth hockey) to organ territory. Now in order for you kid to play hockey, they’ll need your arms, legs, and at least one kidney.
I digress. My favorite thing that was delivered today was Athena’s new bed. It’s super plush and supportive for her. She has a bed in her crate but has been sleeping on the floor next to our bed this past week. As Athena lives out her bucket list, my princess will be as comfortable as possible. This puppy will want for nothing. She absolutely loves her new bed. I guess part of me hopes if we keep spoiling her, she’ll get better. Love is the best medicine and she’s surrounded by it.
The Amazon fairy also brought us some more rice, protein shakes, a new pair of jeans (yay) and accessories for my new Roomba mop that’s coming next week. I ended up buying the Roomba J7 and Braava mop combo during Prime Days. Our current Roomba, Lord Vader has died. After running over Athena’s poop several times, it was her puddle of pee that finished him off last Saturday. I love my Roomba. Even with the three dogs, it does a great job of keeping the floors clean without me, or anyone else, having to do anything. I’m an ardent supporter of anything that makes life easier.
Last night I had the honor of going dress shopping with Melody, Jake’s fiancée, and her bridal posse. As the mother of the groom, I can’t tell you how special it was to share in that moment. It was such a fun night that brought back memories of shopping for my own dress. Including how overwhelming dress shopping can be as the bride.
This bridal salon was huge!! It was absolutely beautiful inside and the setup was incredible. The brides are not on top of each other like I’ve seen at other bridal salons. Melly has her own bridal consultant Angelica, who did an incredible job curating dresses for her to try on. She hasn’t said yes to the dress yet, but whatever dress she picks it will be a showstopper on her.
The beautiful couple
Fortunately, the night out looking at bridal gowns kept me from buying more stuff on Amazon. It was a much needed break from my male dominated life. This morning I was back to shopping Amazon like I have an empty house. Today I picked up a drying rack for my laundry, which will replace the one I have that is falling apart. I’m sure as the day goes on, I’ll find more stuff I don’t need.
It’s prime day! Or should I say Black Friday in July day?!? I’ve spent my morning working, being productive of course, while scouring Amazon’s best deals. I thought I’d compile a list of my favorite deals and share them here.
Vital Proteins: My favorite collagen protein is on sale at $29.99, which is the lowest price I’ve seen ever seen it. It’s usually retails for $47.99
Mini portable phone charger: I absolutely love this small charger for my iPhone. It’s on sale for $18.99 today where as it usually sells for $34.99.
SodaStream soda maker starter kit is on sale for $89.99
Roomba J7. There are several Roombas on sale today. My Roomba, Lord Vader, had an unfortunate run in with dog pee. I’m hoping dried out and cleaned that it will still function. If not, I’ll be buying this model.
Roomba M6 mop. I have the lower model Roomba mop and it works okay. This one has a lot more functionality and capacity. It’s on sale for $299.
As I find more deals, I’ll be sharing them here. I use Amazon’s subscribe and save for a lot of things, so I’m checking prices on those items as well. If you come across any good finds, please share them in the comments. Happy shopping!
Like most folks in Florida, we’re waiting for Hurricane Ian. For the uninitiated, waiting is one of the worst parts of an impending storm. By the time the storm finally gets there, it’s jumped the shark. You’re over it. This can be a bit dangerous as it lends itself to complacency. Unfortunately, you can’t afford to be complacent with a Hurricane in the area. Most importantly, even without a direct hit, we’ll still see tremendous amounts of rain, wind, and potential tornadoes.
With these storms, you have to be prepared for everything. The track shows it going into Tampa, but the storms often deviate from these tracks in crazy ways. For example, Hurricane Andrew was expected to make landfall in Palm Beach County as a category one storm. As we all know, it went into southern Miami Dade County (Homestead) as a catastrophic category five storm. While there have been a lot of improvements in forecasting the tracks, it’s still not a perfect science.
While waiting for Hurricane Ian, I’ve been preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. Our Hurricane kit is fully stocked including a robust supply of water. Tonight I’ll pick up all of my prescriptions, so I don’t run out during our immediately after the storm. Filling my prescriptions was a significant issue for me after Hurricane Wilma, an issue I’m not willing to repeat. To be fair, Hurricane Wilma bit a mere four months after we moved to Florida. We learned a lot from that storm. As the storm approaches, I’ll make sure to keep everyone updated.
Here’s a list of key things you’ll want to have in your Hurricane/bad weather Kit:
I had a people of Walmart experience this weekend in Charleston, As for Charleston itself, we didn’t see much of it. The weather was pretty terrible Sunday. It was way too windy, cold and rainy to do anything outside. We did, however, have a most interesting adventure at Wal-Mart. Elizabeth and I decided to stop there on the way back from our coffee run, so we could grab some essentials. As we parked I was telling her why I always avoid Wal-Mart.
This trip did not disappoint. As we were checking other, we heard a commotion behind us. Two women were screaming at each other at the top of their lungs. I got the feeling that it was over a guy, but they were so hard to understand. Finally, the lady in line called out her foe for getting a fight while working. Yes, one of the combatants was a Wal-Mart employee.
Once the facts of her employment are brought up, the employee ran behind Elizabeth and to the front of the store. The employee tore of her vest and threw it before coming back for the customer. Meanwhile, she’s screaming that “she’s not employed no more.” Concurrently, the floor manager was running full board, while screaming call 911, to grab the employee before she made it back to the customer. Honestly, it was scary. The two women were completely off their rocker.
Needless to say, I’ll not be going back to Walmart anytime soon. Although to be fair, there were people begging at the entrance to Target. I’ve never seen that before. I also had a man come up to me at the hotel multiple times asking me where the mall was located. Spoiler alert, the mall was visible from the hotel parking lot. It was so weird. You would think he would have found the mall in his own after the first day. After my most recent people of Walmart experience this weekend, I won’t be stepping in that store anytime soon.
Yesterday was all about acclimating to the altitude and celebrating Melly and her 20th birthday. It was fun to have everyone together here in Utah to celebrate with her. We started our day with a nice pancake breakfast in her honor. In fact, we even got to test the AirBnB’s smoke alarms courtesy of the pound of bacon the Hubby cooked.
After breakfast, we headed to Kohl’s to pick up some hiking boots for the boys and a new suitcase for Melly. Goalielocks had forgotten to pack his boots, while the Mayor had outgrown his old pair. While at Kohl’s I found the perfect opal bracelet for Melly. My parents, my hubby and I, Jake and Melly, and Goalielocks and Isa all started dating in October, so I bought both girls a piece of opal jewelry for their birthday. Jake treated us to Chick-Fil-a before we headed to the mall.
We spent the afternoon chilling at the AirBnb. Before we headed to dinner, we played a rousing and endless game of Uno. Apparently, they added a shuffle hand card with the new edition. Consequently, it turned Uno into a never ending game. Nonetheless, it was super fun.
For dinner, we headed to Tokyo Station in downtown Ogden. It’s a hibachi restaurant that happens to be the only one locally that has yum yum sauce. I’m not sure how a hibachi restaurant could function without yum yum sauce. The wait was long since they don’t take reservations, but the food was worth the wait. Most of us has the filet mignon, while Goalielocks and the Mayor had the chicken and shrimp pairing.
After dinner we headed back to the AirBnB to have birthday cake and play games. I had bought a cheesecake for Melly while we were out and about. Additionally, I had some super cute candles delivered with the cake. The card game was a ton of fun although the name escapes me at the moment. This morning we’re headed over to Snow Basin on the east side of the mountains.
It’s the last Sunday before school starts (in person) here in Palm Beach County. Like many parents, across the world, I’ve been waiting for this day for almost eighteen months. Their return to school is long overdue! Oh yes, it’s been far too much together time for this mama bear and her Cubs. Not too mention I don’t think the virtual school was effective for any of the parities involved. Obviously, I’m super excited for the kids to be back in session.
As excited as I am on that last Sunday, my excitement continues to be dampened by my damn summer cold or sinus infection. Whatever it is, it’s super annoying. I’ve continued my regimen of turmeric, vitamin C and D, and zinc. Hopefully, it will put a quick end to this misery. I am, however, feeling a bit better than I was yesterday.
This morning we ventured out to the Wellington Mall as soon as it opened for school shopping. Thankfully, the mall was pretty empty the entire time we were there. We made stops at just a few select stores before ending our mall trip at the Boba tea store. Fortunately, the boys knew exactly what they wanted to it truly was a quick trip. The most arduous part of our trip was driving home through the blinding rains.
I spent the rest of my last Sunday before school doing absolutely nothing. It felt pretty damn good. After all, hockey season will soon be in high gear and down days will be hard to come by. We binge watched all of Vice Principals this afternoon, which was awesome. Danny McBride is hilarious. Once we finished the show, we went back to watching Curb.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I’m reading the Raider Bride. This is the third book thing the Norse Queen series. I love the world of Queen Asa.
*I’m still under the weather Consequently, I took another rest day today.
*The Hubby ran to Dunkin’ to get my own coffee this morning. It was nice to not have to leave the house.
*Tonight I worked on a newsletter for our Pancan affiliate. Sometimes working in Canva makes me feel like a schmo, but it’s such a great tool. I definitely need to spend some more time playing around with it.
*I finally straightened out the AirBnB snafu on Friday. AirBnB had listed the property in error. They had placed the listing as live when it wasn’t supposed to be yet. Lastly, they’re no longer keeping my deposit. I love the new property I booked.
*For dinner, the hubby grilled steaks and potatoes. They were super tasty!
*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.
*Today’s word of the day is moot. My concerns over virtual school are no moot since school is in session.
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a walk. Today he didn’t pull my arm off or anything like that. I put on his harness
Packing for the perfect beach vacation is key to a successful tropical vacation. If you forgot certain items, you can end up in tremendous pain. Hello my sunburnt legs! Fortunately, I’ve put together a list of must have items for any successful beach vacation.
Copious amounts of waterproof sunscreen that’s at least 50 SPF.
I love Sun Bum’s products as they protect well while not causing breakouts. Plus it’s reef safe, which is super important here in Florida.
I also love using Coppertone’s Sunscreen Spray. The ease of use is undeniable and it does a great job protecting the skin.
Nice beach towels as you can’t rely on the hotel or AirBnB to provide enough. We learned this lesson the hard way at Hawk’s Cay.
A nice sun hat to protect your scalp. Nothing sucks more than a severely sun burnt scalp!
A high quality cooler, like a Yeti, for a day on the boat or at the beach. Otherwise, your food and drinks will soon be warm.
I also like to bring a cooler bag as they take up less room and are the perfect option for carrying snacks.
SPF clothing is crucial to protecting your skin especially if you’re out on the water. My SPF shirt protected my upper body. Unfortunately, I didn’t have SPF pants on and my legs paid the price. Lily Pulitzer also offers a full line of SPF protection clothing.
What would a day on the boat or at the beach be without some great music. A Bluetooth speaker, like this one from Bose, is the perfect way to bring the party everywhere you go.
Snorkel gear!! There’s no better way to explore at the beach than by snorkeling.
Naturally, you’ll need something to carry all this awesomeness in and a great beach bag is exactly what you need. I bought an expensive one years ago at Atlantis, but it quickly broke. This year I bought one by Shylero for under $50 off of Amazon. Honestly, it’s amazing for the price. It even comes with a waterproof bag for your phone and wallet. You can check it out here.
Another must have is after sun lotion or aloe Vera to help heal and moisturize your skin after a day in the sun.
These are some of the key items to have as you embark on your perfect beach vacation. Some of these items are a matter of convenience, but others are crucial to protecting your health. Now that my fabulous beach vacation is over, l’m making notes of my must haves for next year’s trip. All of which are in the list above. What are your must have beach items?
*I ran 2 miles and walked a mile. It went quite well.
*Did I mention it was vacation time?
*Tonight we’re enjoying ice cream and watching the NHL draft.
*Jake was able to have a nice lunch with Jon and Brandi before they headed for Yellowstone. I’m so jealous.
*For dinner, the hubby made vodka sauce pasta.
*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.
*Today’s word of the day is curvaceous. After eating too much on vacation, I’m more curvaceous than I’d like.
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a walk. Today he didn’t pull my arm off or anything like that. I put on his harness, so I’d have more control over him outside. Also, the flies are still here. Did I mention I hate gnats, flies, and mosquitos? I was finally able to hang the fly traps. Nobody loves flies.
Don’t call it a streak, but seriously I’ve managed to blog four days in a row. Woohoo! It’s not easy to get back into the habit of blogging (or working out for that matter,) but once you get rolling it becomes habitual and part of your daily routine. While I’ve got back on the blogging bus, I’ve fallen off the workout bus. My knee has locked up on my last couple of runs, so I rested it yesterday and today. Hopefully, I will be able to run on it tomorrow.
I had thought about running tonight, but there was dinner to make and Stanley Cup Finals to watch. A girl has to have priorities and obviously watching the Stanley Cup Finals is a major priority. Admittedly, I’m not super thrilled to see either team in the cup. Either way, it’s a lose-lose situation for us as both Habs fans and Lightning fans can be insufferable. Yeah, I said it. Nonetheless, it should be a great series. Carey Price has been red hot and Vasilevsky is the best tendy in the league. In fact, I am pretty excited to watch the goaltender match up this series.
In other news, Jake moved into his first apartment today. He just gave us a brief tour via Facetime. The place looks great and gives him a lot more room than his dorm room. Also, he may sleep better now that the fighter jets won’t be taking off over his building anymore. Fortunately, it’s also located in a great part of town, so he can walk to a lot of neat restaurants and stores in his neighborhood. Fortunately, his apartment complex also has a great gym, so he can easily keep up his PT.
Not anymore!!! Thank God!
Work went well considering it was a Monday. You never know what you’re going to get in the insurance business, but today everyone was a buyer. Consequently, I hit the monthly sales goal I set for myself early. Now every additional sale will be gravy. Hopefully, the remainder of the week, including the start of July, continues to be profitable like today. Have I mentioned that I love my job yet? If not, I love my job. I worry only about myself, talk to great people all day, am appreciated by leadership, and make more money than in my old job. It’s nice when “life’s lemons” sometimes turn into tasty lemonade with a splash of Tito’s.
Grocery Shopping with Jake
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read Demons, by Dostoevsky. I am really enjoying this book so far. I don’t always enjoy Dostoevsky’s writing, so this book has been a nice surprise.
*I thought about running, but my knee said no. Instead, I ran to get my morning coffee and fill up the car with gas. Don’t call it a streak, but it’s now three days in a row that I’ve driven to pick up my coffee instead of ordering via Uber Eats.
* I made a delicious pork tenderloin courtesy of HelloFresh this evening. The meal was easy to prepare and super tasty!
*I played with the puppies before work after finishing my errands.
* The dogs started a new dental treat this week. In order to avoid controversy and Anakin losing his mind, I give them the dental treat at bedtime. Anakin is super possessive and afraid that everyone is going to steal his stuff.
*I went grocery shopping with Jake via FaceTime for his new apartment including picking out all the ingredients for his favorite home cook meals.
*I watched the Stanley Cup Finalsm, which is the best event in the history of sports!
*Today’s word of the day is nuance. Anakin has a nuance to his bark when he’s afraid something of his is going to be taken.
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a walk. Did I mention I hate gnats, flies and mosquitos?
A 5:00 am wake up call the day after Thanksgiving, usually means one thing: Black Friday mayhem, I mean shopping. In our family, however, it means an early hockey game at rink 50 minutes away. I always love getting up and getting to my destination before the sun rises. It saves me the trouble of putting on my sunglasses. But seriously, who the freak schedules bantams, I mean U14, for early morning games? Pretty sure we paid our dues here, but I digress.
For those of you out shopping in the mayhem, save us some coffee because this mama is gonna need an extra cup! We’ll be enjoying our Black Friday mayhem at the rink. Shoppers may the odds be in your favor!
