Tom really loves his smoker and he will try smoking just about anything, so today his assignment was fresh corn.
Olive oil, Chipotle lime seasoning, on the smoker for two hours, spritzed with water now and again since we didn’t have another extra two hours to soak the corn ahead of time. I finished mine off with another light sprinkling of the Chipotle lime seasoning. Mmmm. We’ll definitely do this again.
The kids are both off to school so I’m free!! My first day is always spent shopping and doing whatever lazy ass things I want—so today I’m planning shopping and watching TV. 🙂
This lasted through cooking, eating, drinking, rain, waterslide splashes…
We thought the slide was going to be delivered Saturday morning…so the kids were thrilled that it came early!
I think I’ve found my regular color…
We looooove potato chips and are always up to try a new flavor. (I honestly don’t want to admit how much money we spend on chips. It’s utterly embarrassing.) So Tom saw these at Costco and sent me a pic to gauge my interest. You can see our exchange. 😂
Fast forward to tasting them. 😳😳 Yeah, we should have really gotten 23. Holy hell they’re good. It was SOOOOO hard to put them away after a small handful with dinner, but… accountability. If I didn’t physically put them away I could have easily eaten half the bag. Plus the kids actually like them, too.
That said, I’m not sure they beat my all-time favorites Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream and Lay’s Biscuits & Gravy, but they’re right up there.
What are some of your favorite chips? Bonus points if it’s something new to us that we can source locally and try!!
Remember me saying I was trying to lose weight…again? Well, things went SMASHINGLY well for 2+ weeks and I lost almost 20# (I think it was 17). YES, THAT MUCH. I was feeling motivated. I was being strong. I was surviving without margaritas. I knew I could do it.
And then.
A minor slip up—one drink with a friend to celebrate a reunion. And then another minor slip up—an extra piece of pizza at my kids’ birthday pool party that I ate without even thinking. And then honestly I kind of lost track after that because…summer, friends, BBQs, late nights, kids being away, vacation, etc. And I wasn’t as strong as I thought I was so I gained 16 of those 17 back and could just kick myself.
This Monday I was back at it again. Because I know I can do this. I have to do this. I worked too hard the first time around to let myself slip farther.
I’m down a few so far this week. It’s better than going up so I’m thrilled. Now I only have *cough*grumble*cough* more to go. 😂
Who wants to be my accountability buddy since this crazy kid is a good walking partner but not much help otherwise…?! 😂
Sidenote: Owen and I might have the same size shoes!
All we can say right now is HOLY SHIT and CHEERS to our AMAZING travel agent David Platt with Mouse Master Travel—he just found a new military and kids discount for our upcoming cruise that saved us…are you ready?!!
When he told me I couldn’t even breathe. That pays for all our flights…and now we don’t feel guilty about the Deluxe Beverage Package! 😂🍹🍺
Y’all remember last year when I got to go behind the bar and stick my head under the thimbleberry margarita spout, right?
Well, this year I wasn’t expecting that but I did want more of those delicious thimbleberry margaritas… The kids were at a birthday party so the four of us headed out.
But let’s start at the beginning…
Step 1. Thar she is. Thimbleberry margaritas. 💕
Step 2. Soooooo good.
Professional (me) vs Amateur (Linda) 😂 Round 2 coming shortly.
Step 3. Ask to go behind the bar to get a picture. Get told no because there’s a camera. Say “Well I’ve been back there before…” and get the response “OH THAT WAS YOU? I REMEMBER THAT! COME ON BACK!” 😍🙌
Step 4. Get a third drink because VACATION. They also aren’t that strong.
Step 5. Time to go home. 😭😂 See you next year!!
I honestly feel guilty being this close to Chicago and not doing stuff…but I hate all the traffic, I hate the congestion, I hate all the pedestrians who think the world revolves around them, I hate paying through the nose to park, I hate paying for an Uber so we don’t have to park somewhere else…shall I go on? 🤦🏻♀️
Yet once in a blue moon we make plans to alleviate the guilt…so today was hanging out with out-of-town friends. But first we had to deal with this. The last mile took 20 minutes.
Waiting for our friends to arrive.
Now it’s getting worth it—peeps, drinks, and brunch at The Publican. I look frightened purely because it was difficult taking the photo. I have a margarita so I’m good.
Since Ballast Point was practically right next door, Tom had to stop (it’s one of his favorite breweries out of San Diego). So we’re all here. No margaritas, though, so I’m sitting this one out.
Then it was a quick Uber to the Wendella docks for a Lake & River Architecture Tour (with drinks!). Honestly I was hesitant about this because we’d already done the Architecture Tour when we went last year, but if you recall it was so hot that we stayed in the A/C and drank and only saw the bottom half of the buildings. The weather today was much better so we figured we’d get to see all the buildings…
We were at the very front of the line so scoped out what seats we wanted—and there were six right in front that were perfect. And we got them! And drinks, of course. 🙂
Doing a thing I’ve never done before—we’re in a lock!! (Plus something I do all the time–there’s a margarita just out of frame.)
Then we went out into Lake Michigan—something or last tour didn’t do so that was cool. We might also have gotten splashed just a bit—the water was rough and we were at the front of the boat.
Then it was dinner and drinks at Beacon Tavern (right off the docks). Sooooo much good food and amazing company…
So a day in Chicago is DEFINITELY not something we want to do all the time but sometimes it’s DEFINITELY worth it.
I’m not sure we have enough crap for one day.
See? It really is Christmas!
When you learn awesome party tricks from your elders: Tequila-infused watermelon with salted limes. Aunt Rose, you rock!
The annual cousin lineup, by age: 7, 10½, 11, 12 (almost 13), 14 (almost 15).
And Nick is pulling away, which is okay since he is almost five years older!!
Adding older cousin Alex (17) to the mix (Jess was working).
I introduced Lisa to a few new products.
Unfortunately, it was a stormy day so we had to dodge rain and lightning for most of the afternoon…but, on the plus side, it wasn’t 100° with 95% humidity! My hair kinda grew throughout the day.
There was a fishing contest… Aubrey is a Master Fisher so she helped my kids. I was surprised at how long they kept at it! (Of course Tom was out there, too.)
Darrell caught the biggest one:
And then this happened…
Someone started the cooties!! (I think that will be a blog post in itself!) So for the last two hours we all had to keep our fingers crossed! We reminisced about the old days and learned Greg still has what it takes!
The big bummer? Lisa and Alex left pretty early and with the rain throwing things off, we totally forgot to take our group photo!
I love coming home to visit. Hubby and I leave the kids with Gramma and Grampa and we hit all the local shops we love—shout out to Tip’n the Mitten which is always our first stop (I love me some 100% Michigan-made products) and then it was the AuSable Artisan Village (where my mom used to sell her Pysanky…and I have bought many things) and then some fireworks (since they’re not legal where we live)… and then, last but not least, Paddle Hard Brewing where I enjoyed two strawberry margaritas that made me SUPER happy and a little buzzed.
Do you have places you have to visit when you go home?
Now, if y’all know me, I don’t really do shadows. (Frankly I kind of suck.) But I watched an amazing SeneSister do this eye look yesterday and she is so fun and genuine (sidenote I totally want to be her new bestie) that I was compelled to comment. When I said if I tried this look I’d end up looking like I have two black eyes…she challenged me. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED, Joyanne Boggs!!
I then totally fangirled over her and she graciously agreed to come to my group and do a demo for us (coming soon)!! But first today. Today I attempted this (minus the fake lashes because a girl can only do so much) and Joy had faith and showed up for emotional (and technical) support. And guys? It was a blast and I didn’t totally suck!
There was an unexplained Lapis Glitter incident 🤨 😂 plus I learned I still really need practice (I’m definitely not at her level!)…but overall, I’m really proud of myself for stepping outside my box!! #senesistersrock
They got the kids a family day pass to another local water park so the kids are off on the slides and we’re about to get in the lazy river!!
Y’all. This visor is insane.
We all had a great time! But I’ve decided a lazy river needs adult beverages and no kids. 😜
Katie’s birthday is obviously today and Owen’s was back in February, but both kids love a pool party so we decided to celebrate both birthdays together! (Owen also begged for another pool party!) So we had a 7th birthday and 10.5 birthday!!
The party officially started at 3:30 but we got to the park when it opened at noon so the kids could get in as much playing as possible (and to stake out the best shade seats, as is my usual). I didn’t take many pics because, well, I rarely take pics at the pool… And once people started arriving and the party started it was crazy busy—we had 15 adults and 27 kids!!!
But first, lunch. Of course the kids hadn’t eaten lunch before we left, so they were hungry pretty much as soon as we got there. We asked if we could have some of our party food early and that wasn’t a problem, so the kids had hot dogs and popcorn! (Our party package came with 20 cafe meals but we were bringing in pizza so technically didn’t need all the meals, so we snagged them for lunch! Brilliant!)
The arrival of the pizza!
Once we got it set up it was like a feeding frenzy. You’d think these kids hadn’t eaten in days. For a moment I wasn’t sure we’d bought enough pizza as the boxes were emptying at an alarming rate, but in the end it was perfect and we ended up with about 1.5 pizzas to take home.
Cupcake time came shortly after…
Of course we had way too many. I figured with 42 total guests, 60 would be just right because some kids would have two. But apparently most adults don’t eat cupcakes… So we literally had an entire tray left! I walked around handing out cupcakes to random people then took the rest to the manager’s office (they were happy to get them)!
We left just a little bit of garbage…
Sooo happy to see these guys together again!!
Tom and I went back to the water to cool off (it was still like 85°) and relax and two of our friends snapped pics of us. 😄
Katie was actually done before Owen so she went home with Daddy a little early.
All in all a great day… The weather was hot (I think it got to 94°) but it was perfect around the pool. Everyone had a great time. No one got hurt. Well, I take that back…Tom tweaked his back a bit but he powered through. And I lost my sunglasses on the waterslide—I had them tucked in my suit but they still came out…but they totally disappeared. They weren’t in the pool with me and we couldn’t see them in the pool anywhere. It’s a mystery.
My husband knows that lilac season is one of my favorite times of the year, so look what was waiting for me when I got home last night… 💕
I’m honestly not sure where my intense love of lilacs came from—we had a large bush in our front yard growing up, my grandparents had them at their house, and they seemed to grow on every block—and I liked them well enough but didn’t obsessively LOVE them like I do now.
Fast forward many years and I had smelled every lilac-scented thing I could ever find:
Some were passable (and those came home with me) but nothing EVER matched the scent of real lilacs, which was limited to a few short weeks between May and July depending on the Michigan weather. I guess maybe I started loving them when I realized how scarce they were—that seems like how my mind would work! I even tried to plan to have my wedding during the Lilac Festival on Mackinac Island but you just never knew when they were actually going to be in bloom so that didn’t happen.
Now, our entire neighborhood seems to be filled with them…except our yard. So if you can’t find me over the next few weeks, just look for huge lilac bushes and I shouldn’t be too far away.
Do you like the smell of lilacs?
For the last 18 years we haven’t lived near family since we’re military—so when your mom calls you one morning and says they’ll be there for dinner…
WAIT, WHAT? 😳
This isn’t a 20-minute drive, y’all—my mom lives 400 miles away!
It’s doubly exciting because it’s Mother’s Day weekend and I haven’t seen her since December!
Fast forward to her arriving tonight…
If you’re not sure what colors to wear together, you can actually use the same color on lips, cheeks, and eyes!! This keeps everything in the same color family!!
💜 I did it here with Purple Reign! Wear it by itself on your lips, and then mix it with Pearlizer for cheeks and lids! I did less purple for the blush and more purple for my eyes.
(Yes, Purple Reign isn’t very aptly named. It’s way more pink on most people. But the real life swatch is more purple. Go figure.)
Easter candy is half off at Target! I texted Tom and he said when it gets to 70% I need to go back for more!
That damn cereal was still on my mind today so I drove back to the dollar store and BINGO–one full case of ❤️❤️ Reese’s hearts (plus two extra) and 10 boxes of ☘️☘️ Lucky Charms. 🙌🏻🙌🏻 I might also be extra giddy today because it’s 68° and I got a 2-mile walk in this afternoon. 🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️
I love dollar stores and on a total whim stopped at a new Dollar Tree while I was making a run to ALDI. Oh wow. It’s much bigger than the one I normally shop at and the stock, while mostly the same, just seems so much…more. I didn’t need anything when I walked in, but I managed to spend $50. And I found the holy Grail for my kids.
Tonight was the school bingo event and we had a blast!
We invited friends, ate pizza and Bundt cakes for dinner, and Katie won two bingos!! One was even a red ticket which means she got to pick from the BIG gifts.
And look what we got…
A huge Bundt cake (which happened to be Confetti, her favorite flavor!) and a year’s supply of bundlets (one per month)!! WOOHOO!! Then she picked the loom bracelet for her second prize!!!
🧐Why? Why do I do what I do?
I joke that Tom said it was time for me to “get a job” and I didn’t want to do that so I did this to placate him. And while that was the truth at the beginning…things gradually changed. Now I have something that is 100% mine…and it allows me to be here for my kids, which, as they get older is actually more important to me. I want to be the house that everyone gathers at because it’s fun or comfortable or safe–and I don’t feel I can do that if I’m on someone else’s clock. So I made my OWN clock and it’s wonderful. Yes, sometimes working from home is a pain in the butt, but it’s still HOME… exactly where I want and need to be.
👨👩👧👦 So…why do I do what I do? I do it for these guys. This family that I love so much. This family that bears with me when I want to take a family portrait on a walk and it’s too damn sunny but they do it anyway. The family that supports each other no matter what. My goal last year was to earn enough for a Disney Cruise…and I did…so plans are now in motion. 🚢🙌
⏰ If you are ready to give up someone else’s clock or create your own, message me about how I can help. What would you do with an extra $300/month?
(We have a one-day event coming up Tuesday where you can learn all the details, ask any question, and hear stories or connect with people who you can relate to. PM me to join! You won’t regret it!)
Can I talk to you for a second about my wattle? 🦃 I hate it, but I’ve considered it a badge of honor🎖for having lost 141# ⚖️ (now a bit less but let’s not go there in this post). 😂 But look what happened recently in just eight days?
DAMN Y’ALL. I’M FLABBERGASTED. I expected this to take at least a month or two IF IT EVEN WORKED. And it took days. DAYS Y’ALL.
(I’ve also been using it on my face but was so concentrated on watching for neck results that I didn’t take a direct face before shot. I’ve used it sporadically in the past but I’m determined to be religious about it going forward…because look at those results?!)
🥺So everyone is allowed to have a pity party once in awhile–as long as you don’t let it consume you and you can move along it’s all good. Consider it a mental health moment and we all need those. AMIRITE?!
This morning was my morning. Then I picked myself up and made this graphic because DAMN Y’ALL SeneGence wouldn’t publish my name in the monthly newsletter unless I was being successful. AMIRITE?! 🥰🙌
#PersonalSalesVolume #SignificantSeneseller
Katie desperately wanted to go shopping with her teacher tonight for “Shopping with the Educators” at Target. To see just how serious she was, I told her she had to spend her own money—and she agreed instantly. So of course I matched her money and had a ball watching her shop with her teacher and a handful of classmates for the local holiday food drive. She loved shopping, ringing everything up, and loading it on the school bus. 💕 Mrs. Glenn is completely awesome and did an amazing job corralling a large handful of kids into buying what they needed.
Parent teacher conferences were tonight and both teachers had glowing things to say about the kids! Katie’s teacher was surprised that she balks at reading and doing math homework because she does awesome in class. Owen’s teacher said he really could not be doing better. We are so proud of them!!
The veterans thank you wall at Katie’s school.
And at Owen’s school:
And some of Owen’s work hanging in the hallway (maybe my favorite part of conferences).
And from Katie’s meeting:
I like the sound of the air because it sounds cool. I had pumpkin donuts at the pumpkin patch. I bought pumpkins at a pumpkin patch.
💜 If you’ve ever wanted to do it, GO FOR IT!!! Even if it’s just a temporary hair color… It’s fun! It’s pretty! JUST DO IT!!
Just in case you weren’t sold on Naturally Slim or didn’t think it was magic… Listen up.
Remember from my earlier post that I gained a whopping THIRTEEN pounds while on the cruise (I ate and drank ALL THE THINGS and then ate and drank some more and then had some more for good measure).
Well, in my first week back on NS, I lost all 13 (13.8 to be exact)!! 😳🤩🤗 Now I know a big chunk of that was water weight (my ankles look and feel normal now!) but holy shit, y’all—even I didn’t expect that big of a loss (but I’ll take it)!
The best part is that now I am super geeked about NS again, which is good because I’ve gained *cough grumble* an embarrassing chunk over the past two years…and it’s high time it came off.
I am SO ready to get back down to my goal weight…
I’m trying to find a pair of silver dress heels for my ball gown so I went to the local huge shoe store (DSW) with no luck. I print could have gone to the mall but who wants to do that?! So it was off to Amazon and Zappos. And this doesn’t include the one pair that got returned already or the three pair that are still coming tomorrow.
Thus far I’ve narrowed it down to the super comfy Naturalizers that I don’t 100% love the look of (front left, $95) vs the ones I love the look of but are maybe at an 8 on the comfort level scale (back middle, $24).
