Girls Night Out At A Club In Baltimore

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So last month I went to Baltimore to visit my bestie who used to live out here in Arizona, we attended FIDM in San Diego together and are now all grown up with families. It’s so fun getting together with friends from the past that you went to college with, but it’s a little scary how fast time goes by.

Prior to my departure, I spent the week packing and getting my wardrobe together, I couldn’t show up to her place with lame clothes so it took me a bit to pull out some old club wear and get things in order. There were a few problems I came across, one was that those amazing dresses I used to wear just didn’t fit me as well as they once did, and the other was that they were a little dated. I really wasn’t worried, I had budgeted to buy some new dresses as we had planned to go out a few nights for cocktails and appetizers. I thought about running over to Nordstrom Rack to find some clearance dresses but didn’t want to deal with the traffic and hassle of rummaging through leftover dresses. I was looking for an edgy dress, something that would fit the older me well, but would make me feel like a younger version of me.

I ran to a few local boutique shops around town but couldn’t find any dresses that really jumped out at me, I was starting to panic a little because the clock was counting down and my flight to Baltimore was creeping up on me like some loser in the club looking to get my number. I called my friend out of desperation and asked her where she was currently getting edgy dresses from, club wear, things that I haven’t purchased in a long time. I was surprised to hear her say that she had the same problem and had been scrambling to find something sexy and edgy that fit her thirties body. She went on to say that she had ordered a sexy, edgy dress from an online retailer at www.edgycouture.com and that the dress shipped quick and fit perfectly. Considering that she also went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, I took her word a little more serious than I would most of my other gal pals. I placed the order a week out and received my edgy looking dress the day before I flew out. The risk here was that if the dress didn’t fit, I would either have to go to the Rack or wait until I got to Baltimore and shop there (which wouldn’t have been the end of the world). The dress fit like a glove accentuated my curves and made me feel sexy as hell. I was extremely thrilled about this trip now!

Overall the trip was a massive success. We had a girls night out with some of her co-workers at the Mosaic club in Baltimore where I rocked my Edgy Couture dress like a 21-year-old rock star! The rest of the week we were hurting pretty bad from the liquor we consumed that night. She had people over for dinner all week, co-workers and random friends she has made since living in Baltimore. What a fantastic time we had, I wanted to get this posted for those of you that read my blog and may have found yourself in a similar predicament at some point in recent months. Not sure I will have much use for the dress now that I am back home in mom mode, but if I have a chance to hit up Scottsdale in the coming months, you better believe I’ll have the edgiest dress of all!

Pure CBD Oil Really Worked For Me

I am usually pretty skeptical when it comes to buying into the latest craze, there are diets that surface that all my girls rave about, workout routines that are the end all for weight loss, and carbonated probiotic drinks that guarantee to keep you healthy during flu season.

When my mother-in-law started using CBD Oils for her fibromyalgia, we had a long talk about it. I was super skeptical, I had not heard enough about CBD to have an educated discussion about it with her, I just knew that it came from the cannabis plant and I was hesitant about her using it. She insisted though that she had felt relief from using the product and wanted me to try it for my tension headaches. As a mom that is constantly on the go, shuttling kids around, and busy at home, I suffer from tension headaches. Friday nights is fine, a glass of wine usually relaxes me enough to relieve the strain in my neck, but Monday through Thursday it’s just not something I can do and still function all day.

I bought 750MG of pure CBD oil from Medicinal Essentials to start out, a few drops a day is what was recommended to me by my mother in law and so I figured I would start there. I started by taking a droplet full in the morning when I woke, in the afternoon around lunch time, and again about an hour before bed. At first I wasn’t sure if it was doing anything, then I realized that the time the kids got home from school I was pretty tension free. Again, being skeptical, I made the excuse that it wasn’t the CBD oil providing relief for my tension headaches, it was just a better day. Well, I followed the same dosage schedule and found the results to be similar. For me, a glass of wine is never enough, I’m a full bottle girl and that usually is enough to relieve me of most of life tensions. With the CBD Oils I decided to take a little more than my mother in law had suggested, she is a little older and is usually more sensitive to things. OMG! I increased the dosage amount to six full droplets, that was double what I had been taking. The sense of calm that came over me was unreal, and my mind was completely clear and normal. I had reservations about CBD, I thought that there may be a chance that it could get me high, but there is no THC in pure CBD Oil.

So much for my skepticism, I’m a new fan of CBD oil and will continue using it until I have a reason to stop. Anything that is plant based from the earth and relieves pain and discomfort without impacting my mind is welcome into my life. So many of the muscle relaxers I have been prescribed for tension relief just left me feeling groggy with a cloudy mind. That was not the case with CBD Oil, it brought relief to my neck and shoulders without the nasty side effects you get from prescription meds. I have since told my mother in law that she needs to up her dose also to get even better results, she didn’t think twice. I bet we both take 6 full droplets daily.

One last thing before I check out of here, I would approve of a small trace amount of THC in mine. I’m not gonna lie, me and my husband have smoked weed at every concert we have attended, I like the vibe when the music is on and the sun is out. A small trace amount in my CBD Oil would be the perfect combination for this girl, and if you live in a state that has legalized marijuana for recreational use, you should be able to find yourself some edibles with a nice CBD to THC ratio that is perfect for mellowing out, but doesn’t launch your mind to the moon and back. Thanks for swinging by, if you have thought about using CBD oils I would consider just doing it. It’s legal in most parts of the country, and can be shipped to your home. It’s worth it. Bye!

Does Target Sell Chemistry Dye?

I already know the answer to this one, it’s no! What in the hell is chemistry dye? School starts in August here in Arizona and one of the kids is taking Chemistry… yay! Another topic I know nothing about, nor does anyone living under our roof! So when my son came home after the first week of school and said he needed some chemistry supplies so that he could run some experiments at home. I thought that sounded normal, we could go get a beaker, a lighter, some goggles, and a lab coat and he could do chemistry stuff in the backyard. Come to find out, that is not what he had in mind, nor is it even what kids these days are doing in the science lab. Not that I’m some expert, not sure I paid attention much in science, but I know enough to be dangerous at science trivia (not really).

So he brings me this list of stuff he needs and I have no clue what I am even looking at, seriously, who has ever hear of Alexa Fluor 488, Alexa Fluor 594, carboxyfluorescein, NHS-Fluorescein, alexa fluor 488 phalloidin, 5-carboxyfluorescein, carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester, Alexa Fluor 488 NHS Ester, nhs-fluorescein pierce, and fluorescein nhs ester???? What the hell does that stuff even mean? When he handed me the list I thought they might be ingredients to make a nuclear bomb or something, I was not about to buy any of it until I spoke to his chemistry teacher. I sent the chemistry teacher an email and replied pretty quick (I love the Kyrene School District). Turns out that fancy list of dyes he needs for experiments are just dyes. Like something you would dye your shirt with I guess? Once I started calling around I realized real quick that nobody knew what these chemistry dyes were. I dug around further and found a website (https://fluoroprobes.com/) that sells this stuff.

After looking at the price tag on some of these chemistry dyes, I reached back out to the teacher to discuss alternate options. He replied back that the purchase wasn’t mandatory and that my son was just doing it for extra credit. Sorry Charlie, not dropping $500 on a bunch of chemistry dye so you can get some extra credit! He’s going to need to find another way to do it that doesn’t cost me a bunch of money! Chemistry is beyond me, and dropping 5 bills on chemistry dyes is not in my budget at the moment.

Our Toronto Air BnB Shower Drain Ordeal

Hey everyone, I wanted to share this experience we had at an Air BnB in Toronto over the summer. I have been meaning to post more about our summer adventures, but have been busy with getting the kids ready to go back to school and life stuff.

We took a trip up north to Toronto, Canada this summer to explore the great outdoors and check out some of the local attractions in Toronto. I was amazed at how clean everything was up there, driving through the states there just seems to be more trash and litter scattered about that we took notice and were impressed with the cleanliness of the area. We got ourselves an Air BnB for the week and started our adventure at the Royal Ontario Museum. The museum was full of culture and nature exhibits, we all enjoyed our time there (including the kids) which was a major bonus for us. The next day we headed out and explored High Park and hiked through the trails there, it was absolutely stunning, the landscapes and natural beauty that exist there are stunning. Wish I was a better photographer. A day spent hiking through High Park requires a nice warm shower and a glass of wine. We got back to the Air BnB and everyone proceeded to get cleaned up when I heard my daughter yelling obnoxiously through the bathroom door that the shower wasn’t draining. She’s a bit of a drama queen, so I took the yelling with a grain of salt as I went to investigate what all the drama was about. Honestly, I had assumed she stepped on the drain plug and closed it off but that wasn’t the case.

Time To Call A Plumber

This shower drain was seriously clogged, and she was standing on 6 inches of water which had her completely grossed out. Fortunately there was another shower in the master bedroom that she was able to use, but I didn’t want her getting too comfortable in there because the two of us sharing a bathroom is a recipe for disaster, besides we were paying for a two bathrooms at the Air BnB and the shower drains should be working. My husband tried unclogging the drain with a coat hanger but was also grossed out and that led to an unsuccessful attempt at getting the drain to open up. We didn’t know if there was a year worth of hair stuck down there, a kids bath toy, or what…. we just needed the drain unclogged asap! We reached out to the property owner but didn’t get a call back in any reasonable amount of time. I wasn’t going to wait for this guy to call me back before I reached out to a local plumber to get this drain fixed. I jumped on my trusty smartphone and started my search, and this was almost as much about getting my daughter out of my bathroom as it was about fixing the drain. I found a plumber in Toronto that had the availability to get out to the property that day and fix the drain.

Later that afternoon he showed up with some liquid concoction like Drano Fluid and a massive snake. He dumped a gallon of the liquid Drano in the drain, waited 1o minutes then ran the snake down the drain and through the plumbing. The clump of hair and debris that was removed from the drain was enough to make me want to vomit. I didn’t let my daughter see what was pulled from the drain because she probably wouldn’t have taken another shower in there. After the plumber removed the clog, water drained perfectly.  Before I let her back in the shower though, I bleached the heck out of it.

After the drain fiasco, we were back in business for the week. The rest of the Air BnB held up fine with all of us living there. The washer and dryer functioned fine, BBQ had enough propane, dishwasher worked, and they had the place stocked with plenty of amenities to keep us busy in the evenings.

After a few days exploring the city, museums, restaurants, and of course, some local breweries (http://www.bellwoodsbrewery.com/) Bellwoods Brewery was our favorite. We decided it was time to get some sunshine and lounge by the water. We ventured out to the Toronto Island park where we lounged by the water for the day, swam, and hiked around. After a day of swimming and lounging around on the beach, we were all thankful to return to the Air BnB and take warm showers, thankfully the guest shower was draining properly or I would have had another drama moment on my hands!

All in all, the trip was fun. Toronto is absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to return. The Air BnB was a decent place except for the plumbing issue. The city itself was really nice and the tourist attractions offered plenty for us to explore. Next time we visit Canada, we want to head over to Victoria, there is the Victoria Clipper we can take to Seattle for the day, we want to take a ride on that and also the Butchart Gardens we want to explore.

I also came across this video for unclogging drains.

Getting Our Solar Water Heater Repaired Was A Must!

If you live in Arizona there is a good chance you have converted some of your home’s utilities to solar. When you drive through Arizona it’s common to see the rooftops of homes covered in solar panels. Well, we have yet to convert our power supply to solar, but last year my husband bought into the idea of converting over to a solar hot water heater. You wouldn’t think that in AZ we would need a hot water heater during the summer, I mean seriously, is there any cold water anywhere around here other than in the fridge? Even when I take cold showers during the summer, the water isn’t necessarily cold, it’s just cooler than the hot water. When it comes to laundry and dishes, we are still in need of hot water during the summer months. Going solar with a hot water tank made sense, the sun is always shining here and we can always afford to save a few bucks on our SRP bill. So when my husband converted to the solar water heater, we were both enthused about the idea. It was also a bit of an introduction to solar for us, we know we want to eventually convert our power to solar, but have yet to really make the move. We are still not sure if we are staying in this home for the next few years. We both want to move, get a larger piece of land, and get out of the city. If that were the case and we could make that move, we would definitely buy a home with solar panels in a heartbeat. Anyway, this water heater was our introduction to solar and we have absolutely loved it. Last week the kids went back to school, here in Arizona schools start back up in August, this meant consecutive showers being taken first thing in the morning from all of us. Well, on Wednesday we notice that the shower water wasn’t getting very warm. I prefer cooler showers, so we could have gone two months before I noticed the hot water heater being out. My daughter oddly enough takes warm showers year-round and was the first to complain. Sure enough, the solar hot water heater was not producing hot water. We knew there was enough sun, we knew it was hot as hell out, but we did not know why our solar water heater wasn’t heating the water. If you have teenage kids (especially teen girls) then you know the drama that can come from disruptive events like losing hot water.

 

Her drama alone was enough for me to jump on the phone and find someone that specialized in solar hot water heater repair. I came across http://pacificwestsolar.com/ online and gave them a call. The guy I spoke with was pretty cool, spoke to me professionally, and offered some over the phone help to troubleshoot. The problem ended up being bigger than a power reset and they came out to repair the solar portion of the water heater. Within an hour our tank was heating water again and my teenage daughter was finally able to back off on all the drama. You would have thought she hadn’t showered in two months! I went into the bathroom after she got out of the shower and the place felt like a steam room, it’s 110 degrees in Arizona, why the hell would you take a shower that hot? I don’t get it, but the solar water heater is working now and life can resume. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my site, if you found me randomly then bookmark my site for more fun blog posts. If you are here from the newsletter that went out, thanks for being a part of my micro-community, I should have more time to blog now that the kids are back in school. See you soon!

Our Drive To Redmond Washington

Hey everyone, sorry I have been so quiet this summer but we have been super busy traveling and getting the kids to sports camps and various events and activities. As I noted in one of my last posts we had picked up a new vehicle this year so we can travel more in comfort and more importantly we can travel safe with the kids. This summer was full of driving, but I don’t think any of it was as beautiful as our drive up to Redmond, Washington. My husband has a really good friend up there that had his first kid this year and we wanted to visit. There is also some family that lives there on his side so we wanted to make the rounds and see everyone, especially his grandmother as she is getting older. We took a scenic route and drove into San Diego and then up the PCH into Northern California, Oregon, and then Washington State. We made a few stops in Oregon where we hung out at the beaches in Seaside for a few days and enjoyed those coastal winds. The beaches up north are very different from the beaches in Southern California or even in Rocky Point where we frequent.

Visiting Seattle

Once we made it into Washington State we drove straight to Seattle and visited the main attractions there. We went to the Seattle Center and went to the top of the Space Needle. We also visited the MoPOP and Pike Place Market. If you have never been to Pikes Place, you gotta go because it’s a complete experience. The fish market is amazing, and if you love fresh fish you will be in heaven here shopping for lunch or dinner. There were also little restaurants there that had amazing clam chowder, fish and chips, and fresh grilled fish plates. Pikes Place was amazing!

Visiting Redmond

After spending some time in the city we were ready to go visit our friends in Redmond. Redmond is East of Seattle and used to be a small farming town. It’s now a tech hub thriving in one of the more expensive areas in the State. Next to Redmond is a town called Woodinville, we visited the Columbia Winery and the Redhook Brewery there. It’s like Washington States version of Napa valley. A very foodie experience with large wineries and smaller boutique wineries. There is also a Whiskey distillery there called Woodinville Whiskey. We did the tasting and my husband loved it, we grabbed a few bottles to bring back to Arizona with us.

With all the boozing out of the way it was time to visit my husbands buddy. They have the most adorable little boy with the brightest blue eyes you have ever seen. We went back to their house and the boys grilled why the girls drank wine. There were a few other families there with kids and everyone got along pretty good. No injuries and the kids played well with each other for the most part.

We made our rounds through Redmond, visiting various family members and old friends. It was an amazing experience for the kids to see the Great Northwest. Everything was perfect until the water pump on our 2018 Durango went out! Yes, seriously!! The water pump on the Durango went out the day before we were going to start driving back to Arizona. Fortunately my husbands buddy is a mechanic in Redmond and owns a repair shop close to where we were staying. We were able to get the car towed to the shop and they had the pump replaced that day, they did an after hours special for us. My husband was down there with them and they hung out and got it fixed. Wish we had a mechanic like that in Arizona!

I gotta admit I was a little nervous as we embarked on our drive back to Arizona, having a car part go out on you while you are traveling is not something that makes the trip less stressful. With a car full of kids, the last thing you want to do is get stranded on the side of the road somewhere. We have AAA but there are some areas on this drive home where the road stretches for hours without seeing any civilization. If the car does breakdown, I just hope it’s near a city and an on-ramp. Well, it didn’t and we made it home in one piece thankfully.

We will be hitting Vegas in a few weeks, I’ll get on here and blog about that soon. Thanks to everyone that replied to my last email, I wanted to know who was still reading these and who wasn’t. I’m glad to say that I still have almost 100 active readers so that’s enough to keep me going. 

Thank you all!! Love you!!

Bought A New Dodge Durango For Our Summer Trips

Summer is here and it is hot as hell! Arizona shows no love for its residents during the summer months. Our electric and water bills go up with the temperatures. Not cool, literally and figuratively.

Every summer we plan a little vacation to get out of the city and up into the hills in Northern Arizona where the temperatures will drop 10-20 degrees. What a retreat that’s become for us and the kids! We were planning on driving up to Purgatory in Colorado to have some outdoor adventures at their facility but the raging wildfires spoiled that trip so we will resort to hitting Sedona for a week.

Sedona is beautiful, if you have never been you need to go! There is something spiritual about the place that creates a vibe for free thinking and living, except that nothing there is free… Not even close.

Last year when we went up to Flagstaff our AC unit went out in the Yukon and we had to have it repaired up in Flag. The vehicle was aging and I hate driving around with a car full of kids in an unreliable vehicle. So, I did what any sane mother would do – I took some money from savings and bought a new Dodge Durango. My husband was really wanting a new truck, but he has a truck and isn’t the one playing Uber with the kids Monday through Friday. He then complained that I got such a small vehicle, and insisted we take it back and trade it in for a Suburban. Well, again, he isn’t the one driving it through the city like I am, navigating a full sized Suburban with a car full of kids is not appealing. The Durango gives me the seat count I need to shuttle the kids plus a few friends, has a V8 engine and is an extremely comfortable ride.

 

 

We will be heading up to Sedona this year on comfort and without worry that the AC will fail us half way through the trip. Sometimes you just need to spend the extra money, to get the extra things, that relieves you of the extra stress.

I have had the Durango for about a month now and it’s already taken a beating on the inside. With the kids being out of school for the summer, I have been their personal taxi driver, shuttling them all over town for birthday parties and playdates. I hate fast food and will trash talk it every chance I get, but if you were to pull out the car seats you would probably find a happy meal toy and a few fries. It drives me nuts, and yet somehow I still allow for it. I swore there would be no eating in the new car, no drinks, no chocolate, no messes period! When you have a litter of children it becomes next to impossible to stay true to your word. When you are constantly on the go, you have to transport the children from location A to location B and find a moment to feed them in-between… Except there is no in-between! This is why fast food becomes so convenient! Whatever, don’t judge me.

So now I have a brand new car that needs a deep cleansing before we make our trip to Sedona. The last thing I need is for my husband to climb into the driver’s seat of the car and smell a rotten Big Mac that’s been tucked under the back seat for a week. I pulled all the car seats out and headed over to the self-serve car wash to detail the Durango myself. They have everything I need there to do a good job, I would have rather hired a professional car detailer but I was in the mood to dig in and clean it myself. Before I hit the road though I jumped online for some tips on cleaning my car. I’ll be using a microfiber cloth to detail the Durango like a boss, plus some streak-free cleaner for my windows and leather upholstery. The tip I liked most though was about detailing my car rims! With all the dirt kicking around on the roads in AZ your rims get filthy quick. Add some break dust to the mix and you have some dull looking rims that need attention.

The trip to the self-wash was successful and the Durango is detailed and ready to make the trip to Sedona. Hopefully, we can squeeze one more road trip in before school starts in August. My husband just notified me today that school will be starting the first week in August, that is F’ing unreal! I’ll be back for another blog post before August kicks off, maybe to showcase our 4th of July BBQ. Not sure yet, but I’ll be back soon. Bye!!!

Summer Time – Huntersville Here We Go!

OMG! Where did this school year go? Here in Arizona, we are about a month out from summer, minus the teachers strike that’s taking place, summer should be on schedule. We have already planned a few vacations that seem fun. We are definitely going to spend time in Northern Arizona. The heat gets to be too much here during those few months and we don’t want anything to do with it.

Northern Arizona is the perfect mix of outdoors and medium to high temperatures. Depending on where you go, you can find some areas that stay below 100. We have talked about Colorado, California, and Washington State. Anyone that follows my blog knows those are my go-to states when traveling. This year though, we are trying something very new! We are going to make the trip to Huntersville, North Carolina.

This may seem like a total random trip but it’s not. My husband’s friends with a Chiropractor out there and we have a family week planned for a summer rental we hooked up through an Airbnb. I have never really been to the Carolinas and am looking forward to the visit. The water attractions seem beautiful, and North Carolina has no shortage of scenic opportunities for us to capture photographs and turn moments into memories.

My husband and his buddy will probably fish and do some boating on the waters, while us ladies will take time to relax, soak up some sun, and have a lemon-drop or two. The kids all get along great for the most part, the last time our families got together the kids were young, so we will see how well they all play together this time around. It’s nice having a Chiropractor with us on vacation, I’m not joking, one of the kids hurt their back boating and was able to receive a few slight adjustments that got him through the rest of the day. It’s amazing what a back adjustment can do for your body. I had never been a fan of anyone cracking my back or neck, but have grown comfortable having it done. It’s like this feeling of relief comes over you, relief from pain and stiffness you didn’t know you ever had.

Anyway, not to ramble on about that nonsense but I am excited to hang with everyone. It should be a fun trip and I expect it will create memories for the kids that they will carry with them into adulthood. Summer is here, the vacations are being planned, and this is one I wanted to talk about real quick. Come back by my blog in the near future, I will be sharing some more vacation destinations as well as pictures of our experience.

Oh, and check out this blog post titled “homes for sale with solar panels.” if you are thinking about lowering your energy bills this summer in AZ, this is a great article to read and enjoy. Till next time everyone, have a great week!