I kicked ass at this game back in the day. 

I was out shopping today and ran across this game.

Holy cow the memories came flooding back!

I kicked ass at it back in the day when my cousins and I each got it for Christmas. (Google tells me it came out in 1982, which is about exactly when I thought it was—I guessed I was around 8 or so.) This is what the box looked like then.

I asked on Facebook if anyone remembered it, and my cousins did—and amazingly, said her kids played the very game a short time ago!! I wish I still had mine, but I wasn’t about to pay $17 for it. 🙂

Jelly Belly Factory Tour

We surprised the kids with a mini road trip to the Jelly Belly factory which is right up the road…And also surprised them with who was also there!

Getting ready for a train ride around the factory floor. It’s really just a warehouse.

Since it is a working factory we had to wear hats—they are very cheap plus I have a big head so it didn’t last long…but I had to keep it on. 😆


 

We were able to try whatever flavors we wanted. I tried margarita and pancakes and maple syrup. They were both tasty. 

We spent about $50 on stupid jelly beans but we had fun. And I can honestly say I don’t need to buy Jelly Belly fudge again (it’s in the freezer so others can try it). 🙂

Happy 45th Tom!

Tom got a half day off work so we celebrated his birthday in style at our first local Diners, Drive-ins and Dives restaurant: The Shanty. I started with Pineapple Sangria…

Then we tried one of the dishes they showcased on the show: Whiskey Shrimp. It was delish.

 

And another dish they profiled in DD&D: Blackened Conch Filet. Super yummy.

 
  

And a free birthday dessert!

 

Then we went to check out the Costco in Wisconsin—just a few miles away! 

We are now Wildcats!

Today was the Proof of Residency/packet pickup for school. It was quite the process overall as we were there for about an hour, though most of that was time doing other stuff like signing up for library cards, talking to people about school programs, shopping for spirit wear, etc. Of course they only had Katie’s packet (?!) so it was a bit more involved to get Owen’s info (they were able to print some but I’ll have to pick up the rest at his school in a few days). 

 

Football PJ twins

When Katie and I were clothes shopping for her and Owen the other day, I saw these PJs for Owen and they also happened to have Katie’s size and she said she wanted them. I asked if she was sure she wanted FOOTBALL pajamas and she said yes, she wanted to match her brother. 🙂 

So tonight they went up to get their PJs on and we hear giggling as they’re coming down the stairs… And then we see this. 

  

It’s a small world!

I knew a friend had moved to Florida but I couldn’t remember exactly where so I was planning to text and ask her. Well, Tom and I were out running errands when she texted me saying “Are you in Fort Walton Beach?” Why yes, I said (I had posted our whereabouts on Facebook). She lives two towns over. So we made plans for her to come pick up me and Katie for lunch!

We came home and I told Katie I had a surprise for her…she was going to get to see her friend Monti. It took her a moment to remember, but she did. This is her, excited, on the way down to meet them.

The two were fast friends in the back seat and jibber jabbered the whole way to the restaurant. They both ordered Mickey Mouse pancakes.

And then things went south when Monti decided she was done letting Katie share her sunglasses. I gave Katie my phone since it wasn’t her fault her friend was being a poop. But that caused even more upset because she thought she should get her mom’s phone and that was denied.

Katie did end up sharing the phone with her and there was happiness for a few minutes…and then Monti got upset about the equality of the sharing so the phone got taken away.

But we were still happy!! It was so great catching up with Melissa!

HOLY $H!TBALL$ this product is amazing!!

Ladies, listen up. I’ve discovered a game changer if you straighten your hair—you have GOT to check out the Dafni. I got mine on QVC because at the time it was cheaper than Amazon, but less than a week later Amazon now has it cheaper. This cut my straightening time from 45 minutes (including blow drying with a round brush and then ironing) to 10 minutes (15 tops). I can’t gush about this thing enough: DAFNI The Original Hair Straightening Ceramic Brush.

This result took me TEN minutes:

My review can be found here but here it is. (Sidenote: I learned you can’t say HOLY $H!TBALL$ in a review. LOL)

I have long naturally wavy hair that takes me, on average, 35-40 minutes to blow dry straight and then another 15 minutes or so to touch up with a steam iron (actually a Maxius Maxiglide MX-597 One Step Hair Straightening Iron with Steam Burst Technology). But I am always on the lookout for a revolutionary hair straightener and I’ve tried a bunch of them. I’ve actually been using the Maxiglide for 10+ years because it was so awesome–until now, I would have said it was revolutionary. But this? The Dafni? HOLY SMOKES. This might just be the best money I’ve EVER spent!

I went into the first use with some trepidation as products like these generally have big claims and then generally don’t come through. But what you see in my photos literally took 10 minutes. TEN MINUTES! I then spent another five going over some sections a few more times and trying to get the ends better, but still…15 minutes?! FIFTEEN MINUTES?! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

Is it perfect? No. Obviously your hairdresser doing a salon blow-out will get it smoother and it will look better, but for an average person doing this at home? Yes. You can recreate your own efforts in a fraction of the time. My after photo with the Dafni is what my hair looks like after I blow it dry with a round brush for 40 minutes!

Also, my arms aren’t tired from holding a blow-drier and/or iron for 40 minutes and I’m not sweating from blowing hot air at my head for 40 minutes. I used to seriously plan ahead when I was going to dry/straighten my hair because it does take so long, but now? I can pretty much do it whenever I have a spare 15 minutes! The longest part of the process for me today was waiting for my hair to dry because I wanted to do it naturally but that’s no big deal because I do that some days anyway.

I am just completely blown away. My first thought once I finished in ten minutes was HOLY COW. This might be the best money I’ve ever spent on a hair product–kicking the Maxiglide to second place.

I get nothing for referrals—I just love this product!

Birthday shopping from Toys R Us

I belong to the birthday club for the kids so when mail came with Owen’s name on it, he was excited. It was a $3 coupon and a certificate for a crown and birthday balloon. When we turned it in, he also got a plush and a book!

He knew exactly what he wanted so it didn’t take long. He looked so grown up waiting in line…

Unfortunately we were one day early for the coupon (of course!) so daddy bought it for him and he lucks out with an extra birthday present.