#AD Quick Breakfast Ideas for Busy Families

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser, Tyson. #StartWithTyson

Some days, I feel like I am always running around like an out of control tornado.  Our days start very early- Emma has physical, occupational and speech therapy three days a week at seven in the morning and the other days, she has to be at school at 7:30 am and the bus picks her up at 6:15 am. Yes, school starts really early in the morning in our school district.  It gets unbearably hot early in the AM.  I also have to get to work after this.  We get a lot done before 9 am!  On therapy days, we run out of the house, pop through a drive-thru, grab a cup of coffee for me/water for Emma plus something to eat.  I have made a goal to stop that.  The costs add up and it's just not good for you! I was trying to think of quick breakfast ideas that is not just cereal and Tyson Day Starts are a great option for breakfast!

Fun Snacks For Summer

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser, #SummerGoodies

It is hot out there and it's not officially summer yet! *wipes the sweat off my brow* Sigh, the life of living in Phoenix, right? You would think I would be used to it after 18 years but not at all. We have two seasons: Summer and Almost Summer. This is Emma's last week of school and next week is the start of summer program. You know what the means? I need to have yummy snacks on hand. I need to keep her busy before it's time for the center to come pick her up and she needs to snack on some yummy treats. I picked up some Pepperoni Hot Pockets and Dreyer's (Edy's for those of you on the other side of the Rockies) Outshine bars from Walmart's freezer section to have on hand as snacks!

Oh Summer Lovin' with Modcloth Swimsuits!

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Ladies! It's that time of year.... summer!

Do you have your perfect swimsuit picked out?

I am absolutely OBSESSED with the swimsuits on ModCloth.  I am a retro kinda girl and these are right up my alley.  The Beach Blanket Bingo in purple is perfect for my style and could easily hide my belly fat! Haha

Bathing Beauty Two-Piece Swimsuit in White from ModCloth	Beach Blanket Bingo One-Piece Swimsuit in Lavender from ModCloth	Be Back in a Splash Two-Piece Swimsuit from ModCloth

Right now Modcloth is having a sale of 25% off all swimwear in our 'Shore' Thing Sale! With their huge selection at a discount, you are  certain to find a new swimsuit to dive into. This is a redline sale with no coupon needed, and you can also use the code EXPRESS to score Free Express Shipping on orders of $125 or more -- just in time for Memorial Day!


Perfect, right?

ModCloth is launching its second Make the Cut Contest of the year! Not familiar with Make the Cut? Well, it's a fashion design contest, and in this edition, they're giving contestants a template on which to create a print pattern for a scarf. The talented winner will have their design produced by and sold on ModCloth, plus they'll receive a $500 prize! But first, the top 10 submissions will be hosted on the Be the Buyer page, where the community will vote for their faves. Design submissions will be accepted now until May 30th, and the voting begins on June 9th!  Official contest rules can be found here. 



Good luck!

#Izola Gift Ideas

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by #Izola and Markerly

I absolutely adore unique items.  The more unique, the better and especially high quality products..  I also love styles that are reminiscent of old style and uber retro, too.  Izola is one shop that provides a plethora of unique and super high quality products! When I say unique, I mean UNIQUE.  Their items are old world utilitarian and made to last.

I found some very, very cool FLASKS.  Yes, you guys.  Honest to goodness flasks.  I really want this Ruffian X Lady Izola flask

How fabulous is that???? Can you imagine a ladies night out and the girls whipping out these flasks? I love it! The attention to detail is absolutely beautiful.

Marketing Your Blog Without Being Spammish

Marketing your blog or website has to be one of the HARDEST things to do, right?  

This is an area that I struggle with.  Marketing takes time.  Lots and lots of time.  How in the world do you market without coming off spammy? I don't have the magical answer to this.  I don't have huge traffic.  I don't have a large following.  However, what I do have is excellent googling skills.  I am a researcher by nature.  I am an eternal student and am always learning and am always seeking new information.  

The Elvis Breakfast Sandwich with Bacon Jam

disclaimer: this is an advertorial.  I was provided free product from the Bacon Jams but I was not financially compensated and my opinions are mine.   This post may also contain affiliate links

Did you know that one of Elvis Presley's favorite sandwiches is peanut butter and banana.  It's been debated about whether or not he ate it with bacon.  I vote yes on the bacon! I mean- it's bacon, y'all.  I decided to make myself a delicious version of the Elvis for breakfast.  It has peanut butter (naturally!), spreadable bacon (heavens to mergatroyd!) and bananas on top of an english muffin.

Spread The Hershey's Love To Teachers

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. #SpreadTheLove

I can not believe school is almost over.  My baby will now be a SIXTH grader as of May 28th (her last day of school!).  Can I cry? Okay.  I did.  Don't judge.  Emma has worked so hard this past year and she has achieved some amazing goals this year.  Emma is not an easy child.  Her traumatic brain injury creates a lot of frustrations for Emma, for me, her teachers, her aids and therapists.  They all work so hard to help Emma achieve independence and make good choices.  Emma's aggressive and can be very, very stubborn.  With that said, her teachers have been absolutely wonderful and I appreciate every little thing they do for all the children in their classroom (she's in a special education class for children with behavioral problems).  I wanted to thank them for all the hard work they have done and I have created this gift to spread the Hershey's love to her teachers with Hershey's spreads found in Walmart.  I found the spreads in the aisle with peanut butter and various nut butters.

Brandon Sanderson is Brilliant

I had never heard of Brandon Sanderson until I was walking through Barnes & Noble one day and spotted the cover of Mistborn.  I read the back and it sounded ... intriguing.  Queue the madness.  Mistborn and the following two books in the trilogy are absolutely amazing.  The world building and the characters' development are absolutely amazing.  I could visualize any one of the characters (Vin, Elend,  Sazed, Kelsier, Marsh, etc.) with such clarity.  The ash that covered the world could be easily pictured in my mind.  The various creatures.  The steel pierced through the eyes of the Inquisitors still give me the chills.   The trilogy really grabbed a hold of me.  I have read it twice so far and plan to continue to read it over and over again.  I am one of those people who want to see books brought to film because I am also a visual creature but I can't see this trilogy being brought to the screen because of the massive details and the magic is so very unique.

Blogging, Monetizing, Internet Fame and Debbie Gibson

I really wanted to do a play on the whole "So You Think You Can Dance" title.  No clue why I wanted to but I did and I have.  So ... ha? Maybe? I've been thinking a lot about blogging.  Thoughts about it have been consuming my day (obsess much? Possibly!).

Some of you have been following my blog for many years and you have witnessed the various transformations and changes as I have tried to figure out my blogging identity.  Last year, I decided I was going to take my blog more seriously than I have before (treating my blog as a business versus a hobby), growing my traffic and attempting to monetize my blog.  This has definitely been quite an adventure and there has been a lot of education in this process.  This industry is ever evolving and bloggers must keep up with the latest technology, social media platform, money making methods and trends.  It's exhausting.

#AD: Easy Grilled Chicken Wraps with Peanut Coconut Curry Dressing Recipe

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser, Tyson.

Yesterday was Mother's Day! I hope you had a fantastic day (if you're a momma of human or fur babies!).  Our weekend was really good.  For the first time in the history of ever, I didn't have a full load of stuff to do over the weekend and that was nice.  I also didn't want to do a ton load of cooking, I just wanted to make super yummy chicken recipes for two since it is just Emma and I.  It's really starting to heat up here (it's going to be in the triple digits here soon! Noooooo!) so I made these really delicious and easy grilled chicken wraps with peanut coconut curry dressing using Tyson Grilled and Ready Sweet Asian chicken thigh fillets that I found at my local Walmart in the frozen food section.

I am the eye of the tiger. Rowr.

Yes.  Yes, I am.  Are you the eye of the tiger?  Get it.  Be fierce.  Go balls to the wall and rock out and show the world that you are a force to be reckoned with.

The other day on Facebook, a family member unearthed a thread on a forum that was posted nearly five years ago.  It began about Victor Ortiz (a local boy fighting on HBO) and then the topic went on about my family.   Well, my dad and brothers mainly but regardless, it was a good thread to read.  Even though a person who remained "anonymous" talked about himself but didn't state he was the person he was referring to.  However, it did make me nostalgic.  Boxing is one of my favorite sports because I grew up in a house full of boxers.  Rocky is one of my favorite anthologies and I still watch my box set regularly My father was a coach, by brothers trained, and our house lived and breathed boxing.  The scene in Southwest Kansas really was awesome- the excitement, the heart, the energy, the drive, and the sweat.  It was a fantastic boxing scene.   Of course, as a teenage girl, I did like seeing the guys my dad trained (some were classmates) training in their tank tops and boxing shorts but that's a post for another day *wink*.  Needless to say, it made me a bit nostalgic.  If you want to be nosy and read about it- you can go here.  .

With today being HUMP DAY MUSIC and all *wink* and I have nostalgia coursing through my body, I shall share with you a favorite mash up video.  Okay, not a mashup but... the best of both worlds: Survivor, The Eye of the Tiger, and Supernatural.

REJOICE, MY HEATHENS! BEHOLD THE DEAN WINCHESTER STRUMMING HIS THIGH LIKE A GUITAR.

It's about that booty, tho...

A Geeky Mom's Gift Guide for Mother's Day

discalimer: post contains affiliate links

R2D2 Robe

Let's be honest- a vacuum, apron, or a mixer is not my idea of a gift unless it's a housewarming, bridal, etc. kind of gift.  All those items say is how much more you want mom to work.  Okay.  Maybe it's just me but I think that gifts for Mother's Day (Christmas, Valentine's, birthdays, etc.) should be frivolous and in my case, geeky.

Here are some items that I think are fabulously geeky, frivolous and PERFECT for mom!

Super Cute Iphone Case via Modcloth.

Pretty Wallet via Modcloth

Cute Pillow Cases

Or how about give her a gift card to Amazon.  Or even one to Etsy, Craftsy, or Nerd Block!

What would you like to get for Mother's Day?

This is totally my wishlist.

Star Wars, The Force and Brats

Happy Star Wars Day!  Are you doing anything to celebrate? I am having a Star Wars marathon and eating that delicious brat that you see a picture of!  Yum!

Single Moms, Rock Stars and Bruce Boxleitner

What do single moms, rock stars and Bruce Boxleitner have in common?