Tag: raves

Livingston Round Up

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This year was Baylor’s first trip to the Livingston Round Up Rodeo. We go every year and it’s a blast – the childless version can be seen here….But being pregnant and with Ms. B means we had the slightly less rowdy version this year. However fun none the less! B made it all the way to the spectacular fireworks display complete with patriotic music (the sun doesn’t set until after 9pm so the fireworks started around 10pm). Such a trooper!

Getting to sit with the big girls

The Noni

PW in his rodeo finest

Titi, cousin Zoe’s mom

I had a chance to experiment with my camera and the speed setting a little. The results were pretty darn good!

This is my favorite.

Steer wrestling…this guy is a Wranglers model so I felt a picture was necessary.

And this is the funniest part of the whole evening – this is the rodeo clown with 4 dummies strapped to himself  that move like puppets -they all do the YMCA. It was hilarious and just a pinch disturbing.

I Love a Parade

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No really, I do.  I love the silliness, creativity and pageantry. And in a small town parade, it’s taken to a whole new level – not necessarily a better level than say the Rose Bowl Parade, but a new level just the same.

Poor B had maybe 6 hours of sleep the night before the Livingston 4th of July Parade. She got over an hour of a nap in her bed and then napped the 45 minute drive to the event – I had to wake her up when we got there…which explains why her pigtails are crooked and she looks less than pleased in the first few pictures.

Getting into the spirit

Cousin Zoe!

Cousin Madi. One half of the “big girls” B was chasing around all week

Learning how to pick up candy from the big kids

Noni, Momma and her girl

See? This is why small town parades are the best. Where else are you going to see a plumbing company advertising by putting a toilet on top of a trailer AND making it shoot water like a fountain?!

Happy Anniversary

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Peter and I were talking on my birthday and I asked if when we started dating at 17 if he had ever thought we’d be together at 30. His response was that he knew we’d be together at 30 and beyond. The man has a way with words alright.

Case in point: on our first official date, we went to our high school football game. He told me throughout the game that he heard a song and it made him think of me. I was so smitten and couldn’t wait to hear what it was. As we drove from the game to the dance, he put in a CD and smiled sweetly as Sir Mix-a-Lots I Like Big Butts blasted through the speakers. I couldn’t help but crack up. His sense of humor and willingness to take a HUGE risk just made me like him even more.

October 1999

We spent the next four years after high school living it up at UofA. I have plenty of pictures to prove all the fun we had, however, most of the people in the pictures now have respectable jobs where being dressed as an Olympian from the 80s with a 40 in their hand isn’t quite the image they want out there. And so save myself some time asking them for permission or cropping them out, I have found this picture that is a good indicator of the typical date dash.

Yes, yes my dress is made of plastic wrap. Thank you for noticing. Also please not that it is not see through – 4+ rolls does make for a lovely “anything but clothes” costume.

And on June 24th, 2005, in 110 degree heat, we finally got to say “I Do”.

I’m aware my extra large feet are not my best quality, but those were awesome shoes…

Happy 7th anniversary PW! Can’t wait for 70 more!

The Beauty Blog: Face and Body Edition

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I love knowing what my friends are using for their hair, make up, perfume, you name it. I always like to know when something is worth the money or where to find a steal. So today is the beauty edition and I’m starting with face and body care – I need more than one edition because it takes a lot to make this face and body look good these days…

Eye Cream

Splurge: Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair Cream – I have dry skin and my under eyes are no exception. If I had to choose 1 product to take to a desert island, it would probably be eye cream. I love this stuff because it soaks in fast and leave skin soft and moisturized without being greasy. It’s pricy, but I slather this stuff and a jar will last me anywhere from 4-6 months.

Splurge: Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Balm – I use this guy at night and it’s like putting ointment under your eyes. You’ll still feel the effects in the morning. The moister is second to none. Again, pricy but lasts and lasts.

Face Cream

Steal: Neosporin. Yup, I said it. After a particularly bad round of adult acne, I splurged on a facial and this was the last thing the esthetician put on my face. And it worked like magic. Generally anything with salicylic acid or benzol peroxide irritates my skin in addition to clearing a breakout, which just makes everything worse. I slather a good round of Neosporin on clean, broken out skin and it’s generally clear within one to two days.

Splurge: Bobbi Brown Extra Broad Spectrum SPF 25 Tinted Moisturizer Balm – yes, there is a trend here. I’ve tried some of the more expensive and less expensive brands and I keep coming back to BB. The value for the product is just so high. And to find a moisturizer with SPF that works is like finding a diamond in the rough!

Splurge: Bobbi Brown Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm – I use this at night. It has the consistency of marshmallow fluff and is easier patted into skin rather than rubbed in. It. Is. Awesome.

Splurge: Facials – I had my first facial ever right after Baylor was born and I was less than impressed. It wasn’t until last year when I found out that the esthetician who does my eyebrows had great prices on facials. I treated myself and was insanely impressed. Even Peter, who was concerned at my new found love of something else expensive (hello kettle? this is pot…) remarked at how good my skin looked. If you’re in the Scottsdale area, you must go see Noel at Skin Studio AZ.

Splurge: La Roche Posay Sunscreen – my mom found this at CVS and it is amazing. You get it behind the pharmacy counter and they carry both body and face varieties. The face SPF is broad spectrum, SPF 60, not greasy and not chalky. It goes on totally unnoticed under makeup, in the part of your hair and on your ears.

Steal: Keihls Rare Earth Pore Cleansing Mask – this is a fantastic mud mask that gets pores super clean. Clears up blemishes and keeps the new ones away.

Body 

Steal: Aveeno Daily Moisturizing – what can I say? It does the trick leaving skin moisturized but not greasy. And you can get three bottles for like $11 at Costco.

Steal: Bio Oil – While prepping for the emergency c-section to deliver Baylor, the anesthesiologist was poking and prodding my lower half to ensure I had no feeling (which is always reassuring when you’re awake and about to be cut in half). I was shaking uncontrollably from nerves, medication and exhaustion – it was a real treat all the way around. The anesthesiologist looked over the screen at me and declared “You don’t have one stretch mark on that belly of yours!”.  Not really what you want to be hearing from the man that is responsible for making you pain free and not paralyzing you at the same time, but a complement none the less.

That was a long way of saying that Bio Oil really does work. It soaks in fast, smells nice and it apparently does what it promises.

Splurge: Aveda Foot Relief – Ali my sister bought me a bottle of this recently and I’m obsessed. I love the cooling feeling that it gives my feet and hands. And the smell…it is so refreshing! I sit in bed for a good 5 minutes after applying it to my feet and just huff the scent off my hands. PW is a bit concerned that I’m developing some kind of addiction.

Stranger Danger?

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I am a paranoid person – not a tin foil on my head, no Face Book page, off the grid kind of paranoid…but I am convinced that there is danger around every corner. I’ve roped PW into my insanity too and my mom feeds it as she is also convinced of the constant danger around us. Therefore it’s natural and B is picking up on a little of it – I’m not teaching her that the aliens are coming, but I do try to temper being friendly to people with being aware of strangers. More than once I have said that she can’t stay in the car by herself, play out in our front yard alone or talk to adults she doesn’t know without Mommy there because there are people who do steal kids. I’m not trying to freak her out, but I would rather her be overly cautious and come home at night than be concerned with offending someone she doesn’t know and never being heard from again.

That said, these conversations came to a head last week. We were at the grocery store and a little old couple was everywhere I needed to be. They were in front of the onions, blocking the corn and man handling every banana. Every time I turned around, one of them or their cart was in my way. I was hustling so I parked the cart with Baylor in the seat and made a bee-line for the strawberries when I saw an opening. The cart was no more than 4 feet from me, but B’s guard instantly went up and when the lady of the couple asked Baylor “Hi there. What’s your name?” B lowered her chin and looked straight at the woman with a don’t-mess-with-me face and said “Don’t try to steal me”.

I heard the entire transaction and was completely unable to stop myself from laughing out loud. The little old lady did not think it was funny so I quickly countered by letting Bay know it was ok to answer nicely since I was with her. Thankfully the woman and her hubby hurried off and kept their distance from us. Which lead to B and I giggling for the rest of the trip. Two problems solved; old people out of our way and lesson learned that even nice looking old people are potential kidnappers.

I mean really. It doesn’t get more intimidating than this….

Birthday Recap

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I planned to post about my birthday yesterday, however, I was severely sleep deprived due to Baylor’s favorite doll, New Baby, loosing her hat and pacifier in the middle of the night. More on that tomorrow. If the doll makes it to then.

Anyway, I had a lovely 30th birthday. It hasn’t quite sunk in just how old I am, but I’m sure as my back gets achier and the cost of my face cream continues to increase, I’ll get a good dose of reality.

I treated myself to a lovely pedicure, breakfast with the sister (including presents!), a nap, phone calls from family and friends, endless FaceBook well wishing and dinner with B and PW. It was a fast, but totally relaxing day. We dined at one of my favorite places, Cowboy Ciao and then came home for some cake and presents – it was a fantastic day spent with the ones I love…I am however, looking forward to the birthday remix where we have cake AND cocktails in a few months!

 

And yes, that dress and hairdo do look familiar. It’s the only damn thing I own that fits right now and doesn’t look too horrible. Not to mention my hair is atrocious due to the need for a cut and color and hormones. Did I mention that I love the end result but hate being pregnant??

Hand Over the Camera

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When we were kids, my dad snapped pictures of everything and anything we did. He had a great camera and always had it handy. So I guess it’s safe to say I come by my need to document life via photos, naturally.

I invested in a Cannon Rebel T3 last summer after exensive research. I needed something that was fast, easy to use, small and didn’t cost us Baylor’s college fund. I realized that in order not to break the bank, I’d have to ditch the small requirement. I settled on the T3 because it wasn’t enormous and it got great reviews for newbies like me.

I snap pictures all the time with it – which means I’m never in the pictures. PW will take over periodically, but then there’s never a picture of the three of us. So this past weekend for Baylor’s party, I grabbed a friend that I knew took great pictures and asked them to snap a few shots of the important moments so that I could actually be present and enjoy. And the result? Awesome. The pictures are beautiful because they’re done with someone else’s eye so the light is a little different, the zoom is a little closer, everything is just different enough that it’s fantastic. And the best part is that I get to help blow out the candles on the cake, eat it and have the picture to remember it for a lifetime.

So next time you are busy snapping away, hand over the camera and see what happens. At the very least, you’ll be able to prove you were actually there!

Case in point? I love the flowers in the front of this pic.

I love catching me mid song and B’s sweet smile!

Archives Week

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It’s Archive Week at Scottsdale Mom’s Blog! I got to pick my favorite from Angela’s (a fellow contributor) posts. Which might be the most difficult and also the easiest job ever since she write such great stuff. Angela is the “what to do and where to go” lady and she has some really fantastic ideas. The post I chose has some great places to visit with the munchkins, even in the heat! Who doesn’t need ideas of what to do with energetic munchkins in the summer?? So read, enjoy, and get out!

www.scottsdalemomsblog.com

Summer Decor

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The table behind our couch needed a little…something. Some change. Some summer. Something new. So I splurged on some good Pottery Barn candles and grabbed their catalog too to steal some decorating ideas. A few cheapy sea shells and voila! Instant summer decorating! Check out Scottsdale Moms Blog today to see the results!

www.scottsdalemomsblog.com