A Fabulously Flawed Life

For Melissa's 40th Birthday we decided to meet in Austin and have some crazy girl time.  Watch out Austin, here we come! Lisa and I have this tradition of dressing up to meet up with Melissa.  We've dressed up as Neo & Trinity from the Matrix as well as Nacho Libre and Nun . We couldn't mess with such a fun tradition, so this time we dressed up as one of Melissa's favorite TV personalities; Beth & Dog the Bounty Hunter. We completely lucked out as it was the Big Ass Biker Parade in Austin that weekend and so we were surrounded by motorcycles.  We couldn't have planned a better photo op!  {{bwaahaa!}} Needless to say Melissa was completely taken by surprise! We decided to start our weekend off right with some food and shopping!  We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and then headed over to Ross and TJ Max since we never have time to brows these stores at home. I finally spent my $50 gift card I won from Tim Gunn at Fabric Care Universit...

I had the opportunity of chaperoning Dylan's Scout Camp this year. I have to say, that it was a lot of fun.  Yes it was hot and sticky and I wish I had brought more Diet Coke. {{two was not enough}} But Dylan and I had some quality bonding time and it was nice to get to know his friends better. They put up with my mandatory photo ops. {{mostly}} Fished. Played cowboy horseshoes.  Which got a little too competitive at one point.  Who ever thought that giving 9 year old boys toilet seats to chunk around a field was a good idea - obviously doesn't have a 9 year old boy.  {{just sayin'}} Shot BB guns. Panned for gold.   Herding a cow.  Yes the boys were the cow. I'm really proud of Dylan and what a good friend he is to the boys.  He's been working on letting other people stick up for themselves and not being such a right fighter.  Which is really hard for him due to his tender heart.   Dylan is growing up to be su...

Now that the boys are older, eating out is a completely different experience. {{It's actually enjoyable - HA!}} Although the boys still find things to keep them entertained. This time it was the quarters we gave them for the little candy machines.  They had to eat their food before they could get a treat.  Little did we know they would be used for more menacing forms of entertainment in the meantime. {{swooning}} Yep, life is always entertaining with this crowd.  Thank goodness they're so cute!

It’s finally here! After months of soul searching, writing, and editing, I’m finally ready to launch my first e-Book: Moments that Endure are Memories that Matter . It’s a free and a quick read. It’s also jam-packed with real life experiences as well as tried & true strategies I’ve used for years. We can each turn around what is endured in our lives by embellishing life with fun celebrations and loving memories. Do you ever feel the need to create and you don’t know why? Do you see others lives as more memorable than your own? Would you like some simple ways to combine your talents to save time and create beautiful memories? I feel like if you know something, you should share it. So that’s my goal. I’m going to expose my simple strategies for making moments that matter for you, your family, and friends. "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln You see, to me Tip Junkie isn’t just...

Last week Proctor and Gamble flew me out to attend the Fabric Care University and edu-macated moi on the process of cleaning laundry. I was stoked! Finally I will get the ins and outs on how to get my whites white and stains out of my boys clothing.  Better late than never!  {{wink}} Friday night we all met up at a gallery for a little get-to-know-you party and our host was Tim Gunn from Project Runway! {{squeal in delight}} He was completely delightful and exactly how he is on the show; engaging, kind, and fabulous.  He did a quick introduction of Proctor and Gamble and Tide then surprised us with a challenge. That's right, we were divided into groups according to the colors on our name badges and then had 30 minutes to turn a plain white t shirt into something completely different and unexpected only using a few items and a glue gun from a bag on the counter. The pressure was on people!  I've watched every episode of Project Runway and I wasn't going...

This year I made the boys 'end of school year' t-shirts that thank their teachers on the front. I made Davis' smaller since he's now in Intermediate School. I told him he didn't have to wear it if it would make him uncomfortable. He ended up wearing it under another shirt to school.  During the donut party he took his other shirt off and wore it proudly.  {{giggle}} On the back of the shirts it said, "Look out 4th grade, here I come!"  I got this idea from Kristy when I featured her on Tip Junkie. We went to Davis' donut party. And Dylan's game day and Ice Cream party. I  had the "Welcome to Summer" banner all ready for them when they came home from school. This little man helped me make it and was terribly bummed that I didn't have green paint.  {{his favorite color}} The boys always enjoy running through it to mark a new day of sleeping in, lots of computer games, the pool, and play dates with friends....

This year for Lisa's birthday I tried to pull out all the stops. It was a crazy week as it was the kids last week of school with all of their events, ceremonies, and traditions. But we made it work. I cooked Lisa's birthday luncheon from scratch! This is a huge labor of love since I hate to cook and I'm terrible at it. I wanted to show Lisa how much I appreciate her and our relationship. She's an amazing sister. I also made her a birthday board game customized just for her! You can find the tutorial over on Executive Homemaker if you're interested. We learned a ton about Lisa and laughed so hard. Her cards and presents were fabulous.  We were in stitches pretty much the entire afternoon. Lisa got a head messager that gives you the weirdest sensation.  Lisa loved it... but I couln't stand it!  I almost smacked poor Elise as it sent tremors down my entire body.  Seriously, they should use that instead of waterboarding to torture peopl...