Wordless Wednesday: Tea Room Birthday

I’m hoping to get a blog pots up this week to share about my first experience in a tea room, but here are a couple pictures to start!


Be sure to check out Full Time Mama, too!

Phonak Twitter Party With The Motherhood 2/26 #ad #HearTheWorld

During the last Phonak Twitter party with The Motherhood, someone suggested I go to Johns Hopkins for my son’s hearing check. With our move, away from an audiologist who we loved, it was going to be hard to replace her with just anyone.

We tried finding one near where we lived, but no one would take our insurance. The one place we could go? Johns Hopkins. So, this Thursday, my son and I will be meeting his new audiologist and I have The Motherhood and the tweeters at the party to thank! I’m excited to chat with everyone again!

You know what’s funny? Tonight when I went to grab my son’s hearing aid to snap pictures of it, I glanced at it enough to realize it’s a Phonak hearing aid (facepalm). He’s had this one for about a year and a half. I just never paid attention. =)

Real and meaningful education happens when kids are truly engaged, and that engagement is only possible when kids can hear and understand the teacher. While help is available from schools, along with state education and advisory centers, choosing a school and help options can be overwhelming for parents of children with hearing loss.

Thankfully, there are resources like the Hear the World Foundation that support families by helping children reach their development milestones and realize their full potential in life regardless of hearing loss. The Motherhood is honored to join the Hear the World Foundation for this informational Twitter party to share helpful education tips for parents of children with hearing loss.

During the party, you can ask questions and hear directly from Christine Jones, Au.D., CCC-A, Director of Pediatric Clinical Research at Phonak, who will be tweeting with us live from @Hear_the_World.

What: Our sense of hearing can play a critical role in education, particularly when we are young. Real and meaningful education happens when kids are truly engaged, and that engagement is only possible when kids can hear and understand the teacher. I'm working with The Motherhood to share insights about the potential impact of hearing loss on children's education, and how to help these kids engage at school, during this Twitter party with the Hear the World Foundation.

When: Wednesday, Feb. 26, at noon ET (11a CT / 9a PT)

Where: We'll be on Twitter - follow the #HearTheWorld hashtag to track the conversation. You can see more details and RSVP using the Twtvite: http://twtvite.com/heartheworld3
Hashtag: #HearTheWorld

Prizes: We will randomly award five prizes throughoutthe party, from all eligible correct response to trivia questions. Each prize is a $25 Amazon gift card. (No purchase necessary. Entrants must be legal residents of the 50 United States + D.C. 18 years of age or older. Void where prohibited.)

Hosts: @theMotherhood, @theMotherhood25, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann, @hear_the_world
We will be joined by Christine Jones, Au.D., CCC-A, Director of Pediatric Clinical Research at Phonak, who will be tweeting from the handle @hear_the_world

Awesome team of blogger co-hosts:
Annie, Mama Dweeb - @MamaDweeb
Ashley, Crunchy Frugalista - @crunchy_f
Jenna, MommyJenna - @MommyJenna
Jennifer, Mom Spotted - @MomSpotted
Linda, My 2 Crazy Curls - @4evamamii
Maureen, Wisconsin Mommy - @WisconsinMommy
Meredith, The Mom of the Year - @meredithspidel
Mimi, Woven by Words - @MimiBakerMN
Rachel, Yellow Tennessee - @YellowTennessee

Estroven Changing Ways Weight Management Giveaway

I know that I’m close to, if not, in a peri-menopausal stage of life. I haven’t noticed changes that would be related to menopause, but because of my age, I know I’m headed in that direction.
Estroven is introducing a new formulation of safe and effective,
multi-symptom menopause relief from Estroven, the #1 dietary supplement brand women trust to safely relieve their most bothersome menopause symptoms.* Only NEW Estroven Weight Management with Synetrim® CQ, goes beyond relieving hot flashes and night sweats to help you safely manage your weight.

I’d say I’m dealing with night sweats, but the only time that occurs is when we go to my mom’s for the weekend and she blasts the heat because she knows we freeze at our current house. hahahaha Can I pray that I don’t have to deal with night sweats?

On the other hand, I’ve actually dealt with hot flashes since I was a young teen. I don’t have them on a regular basis, but I sure the heck know how miserable they can be!

I know, because of what the future holds, that I need to be educated on what menopause brings and ways to fight back. Hey, I’m a chick, we fight back!

Be sure to visit the site and get a $5 off coupon to try Estroven Weight Management! Nothing like an added bonus, right?

Have you started going through menopause or are you currently in the throes of it? I’d love any advice you might have once I get there!

*I have NOT been compensated in any way for this review/giveaway.
*THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE, OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get your Decor On At Minted.com $50 Giveaway #sp

I had heard of Minted before, but never had the pleasure of shopping there. I started off checking out their wall art because I know when I have my own house again, I’m going to want to decorate the house with personal touches.

Ever since we moved and left so much behind, it’s made me think of everything I’ll want to replace or add to what we have in storage. I’ve thought a lot about décor, something I’ve had very little of and can’t wait to have a place of our own. And I don’t mean renting some place that I won’t be in for long…I mean where we’ll live again for a long time. Know what I mean? A HOME!

Not only have I been thinking about décor, I’ve thought about all of the kitchen products I dream about. I love baking and as a blogger, when I do recipes or layouts, I need a LOT of help! I see so many cute tablescapes that have fun things like apothecary jars that could be filled with candies or baubles.

One of my favorite things to do is bake so putting a cheesecake, cupcakes, brownies, etc. on a milk glass cake plate would make me supremely happy!

I’m so excited to give you the opportunity to win a $50 gift certificate to the Minted.com site! Woot! Time to get your wall decorating and home décor on! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Upcoming #Mangos4Mowgli Twitter Party With @TheMotherhood #ad

I had never tried mango until a year ago. My brother and his girlfriend (they are ADORABLE together) made dinner for us and they had this salad with mango in it. Before I ate it, I was wondering how I was going to eat it with a smile on my face. I wasn’t sure what it was going to taste like, but my initial thought was I wouldn’t like it.

The first bite, I was totally proved wrong! It was a spectacular salad.

What: Calling all mango lovers for an exciting virtual scavenger hunt to find new mango-inspired recipes and ideas! The Motherhood is joining The National Mango Board for a special Twitter scavenger hunt! We will share clues throughout the hour that ask participants to find and share mango recipes, pictures and more! Mangos are versatile, nutritious and flavorful - making them a perfect addition to upgrading any family staple into something delicious and exciting! Get ready to exchange delicious mango-inspired recipes that your whole family will enjoy!

We're also celebrating Disney’s The Jungle Book Diamond Edition movie, which is available for the first time on Blu-rayᵀᴹ Combo Pack and Digital HD! And we have the perfect mango snacks to pair with the movie, giving your children a snack-time adventure they won't forget!

We will also be chatting about how you could go on an adventure of your own! Enter the Jungle Jetsetter Giveaway on the Mango Board Facebook page and you could win a five-night vacation stay for four at the RIU Palace Punta Cana courtesy of @FunjetVacations!

When: Tuesday, February 25 at 1 p.m. ET
Where: We’ll be on Twitter – follow the #Mangos4Mowgli hashtag to track the conversation. You can see the details and RSVP via this Twtvite: http://www.twtvite.com/mangos4mowgli
Hashtag: #Mangos4Mowgli
Prizes: Prizes will be awarded to randomly selected participants who participate in responding to the scavenger hunt clues and are following @Mango_Board and @TheMotherhood25. There will 10 prize packages given away throughout the party. Each prize includes:

• Disney’s Jungle Book Diamond Edition DVD
• Kuhn Paring Knife
• An Assortment of Delicious and Nutritious Mangos

Prizes are limited to U.S. participants only. Official rules: http://bit.ly/1elumoy

Make sure to follow @theMotherhood for a chance to win a prize pack prior to the party! Look for three pre-party clues on February 24 and February 25. Tweet an answer and you could win a prize pack before the #Mangos4Mowgli Jungle Hunt even begins!

Hosts: @theMotherhood, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann

Sponsor: @Mango_Board

Your fellow co-hosts:
Kathy, A Mom's Impression - @amomsimpression
Kelly, Texas Type A Mom - @txtypeamom
Lauren, Crazy About My Baybah - @MyBaybah
Lisa, Life With Lisa - @lisasamples
Meagan, Sunshine and Sippy Cups - @sunandsipcups
Melanie, Modern Mami - @modernmami
Mia, PragmaticMom - @pragmaticmom
Michelle, Domestic Executive Online - @thedomesticexec
Mimi, Woven by Words - @MimiBakerMN
Xenia, Thanks, Mail Carrier! - @thxmailcarrier

Guardians Of The Galaxy New Video Trailer

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy's fate in the balance.

Like GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY on Facebook: www.facebook.com/guardiansofthegalaxy

Follow GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Guardians

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY opens in theaters everywhere on August 1st!

How Do You Spell…

My oldest daughter is so funny. She started, maybe last fall, sending me texts when something happened that triggered a memory of the things we did when she was little. She sent me a text yesterday that had me cracking up because I had JUST done the same thing to her brother.

When she was little, she did the typical, “How do you spell…?” When they were little and just learning to spell, I spelled things for them, but as they started having a grasp of letters and sounds, something clicked in me. Um, why am I spelling these words for her?

So, I stopped.

The question would come, “Mom, how do you spell…?”

My answer, “How do you THINK you spell it?”

Yes, I could’ve totally said, “c-o-w” (ei-ei-o) but I felt that spelling the word FOR her was doing her a disservice. What would she learn by me spelling out the word for her? It would’ve been easier, but honestly, it defeats the purpose of her figuring those things out.

You know what the next question was, right? “What does it start with?”

Let’s say the word was “spelling”. I would say, “Do you think it starts with a q?” to which she would reply, “No.” I would then ask her what she thought it started with. From there, she would probably spell the entire word out on her own.

At first, it wasn’t easy because she was little and I would definitely help her with words. I didn’t want her to struggle or get frustrated. The point with this was to not do the work for her. I think kids look at a word as a whole when they try to spell it and choke before they even get started. I wanted to build her confidence up so she would trust herself to begin trying the words on her own and then come to me if she couldn’t figure it out.

On the drive home from church Wednesday, Buddy asked me, “How do you spell…?” I can’t remember what it was, but the above conversation was had with him, just like it’s been done with all of his other siblings.

Later that night, I get this message from my daughter:

You know you always used to make me sound out words and spell them out loud? I’m a great speller. And good at just spelling words out loud and quickly when people ask. I normally don’t even think about it. But it just made me laugh.

It’s so nice to find out I’ve done something right…especially if it’s academic because that isn’t/wasn’t my strong suit. hahahaha

What do you do as a parent that you know will help your kids in the future?

Hasbro’s the Game of LIFE Giveaway #sp

I’ll admit it, when I was a kid the Game of LIFE wasn’t a game I liked or even understood. I mean, how fun is a game that talks about careers, college, buying a house, having kids, etc? Yaaaawn fest in my opinion. But my kids, eye roll, my KIDS on the other hand, yes, all 4 of them, have loved this game. For the life of me I could never figure out why.

When Hasbro gave me the opportunity to review it, I ONLY did it because of of my boys. I have to tell you, the slant was going to be about how much my boys like the game, blah blah blah, because I knew how much I disliked the “game” growing up.

The right way for me to review anything is to actually use whatever it is we’re reviewing so we set up the game and gave it a go. Shockingly, I really enjoyed it. I finally, for the first time, saw it as a game. I’m not sure why it alluded me as a kid. I think I saw it as too much like “reality” and not a “game” whereas my kids have all seen it as another way to come out better in the end than their siblings. lol They have more kids, better houses and better jobs. hahahaha Nothing like a little family friendly game.

I’m not even sure how many times we’ve played this game in the last month, but suffice it to say, it’s been quite a bit. We’ve all won at least once, and the time I won, I actually thought I’d lost badly, but I had two great houses and a pretty sweet job! I also finished second, which was pretty helpful! We have a new family favorite and The boys and I are getting ready to play it again! No, I’m not kidding! Check my Instragram and you’ll see. =) I’m going to try the career path instead of the college path we all 3 always take. We’ll see if it plays into my favor at all!

Now you have the chance to win the Game of LIFE to enjoy with your family! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Valentine’s Day Greeting From The Muppets

Like The Muppets on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Muppets


Follow The Muppets on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheMuppets


Follow Miss Piggy on Twitter: @RealMissPiggy


Follow The Muppets on Tumblr: http://themuppets.tumblr.com


Follow The Muppets on Instagram: @TheMuppets


Visit the Official Site: http://disney.com/muppets


MUPPETS MOST WANTED opens in theaters everywhere on March 21st!

Having A Gorton's #RealFabulous Dinner & Giveaway #sp #RealFabulous

I’ve been trying to come up with some new ideas for dinner. Thanks to Gorton’s I was able to grab some different varieties of their seafood! I’ve definitely been in a food funk. I’m not a gal who makes recipes out of thin air, but tend to go by recipes I find.

My oldest son absolutely loves all of the Gorton’s seafood options. He always has. Over the past couple of years he’s taken a liking to shrimp and will eat it probably once a week.

So, for dinner, we enjoyed a couple of options…when did I become a short order cook? =) Last week we had the jumbo shrimp with french fries. Sometimes we just need a quick and easy dinner. I’m not alone am I?

A couple days ago I wasn’t satisfied with just spaghetti sauce and noodles. I wanted to add something to it and opening the freezer I saw the Gorton’s Seafood Shrimp Poppers! I “popped” them into the oven and as soon as the spaghetti was done, I put the shrimp on top.

Now, the only thing is, the shrimp can get soggy pretty fast so once it’s on the plate, it’s good to eat it right away, and that’s exactly what I did.

Be sure to visit gortons.com and download a coupon, find recipes and explore products!
Now I’m excited that one winner will receive two full-value product coupons, 1 pair of Gorton’s-branded oven mitts, a Gorton’s spatula and an assortment of Gorton’s recipe cards! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Time For A Healthy Valentine’s Dessert! #ad #Moms4JNJConsumer

I wanted to make some sweets for my Sweets this Valentine’s Day! I’ve never used SPLENDA® before and thanks to Johnson and Johnson along with TheMotherhood.com I was given the opportunity!

Since I wasn’t sure how to convert SPLENDA® I headed to their website to learn more about how to use it. Guess what, you use the same amount as regular sugar! Bonus! Valentine’s Day makes me think of chocolate so I headed right for their desserts!

SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated can be used almost anywhere sugar is used, including cooking and baking. It measures cup-for-cup like sugar, but  contains 678 calories less than sugar on a cup-for-cup basis. One teaspoon of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated contains the sweetness equivalency of one teaspoon of sugar with no calories or carbohydrates.

Get a printable coupon for $1 off any SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener product at at HealthyEssentials.com.

To sweeten the savings, you could get a free 30 minute nutrition consultation with a Registered Dietitian when you buy $10 of SPLENDA® Sweetener Products between now and February 17, 2014 – up to $75 value!  More details on this special offer at HealthyEssentials.com.

After scrolling through their scrumptious desserts and finding something everyone (not just me hahahaha) could enjoy, I decided to try my hand at Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Cups. You can find the recipe at their site.

I’m not sure where I did something screwy with the recipe, but for some reason, I had a TON of extra crust and filling. lol I think I might’ve gotten the wrong size “mini” cupcake liners. Bonus to the extra is I can make lots more than I had anticipate! Mine were basically bite size pieces. Thank goodness they have less calories! HA!

I’m excited for my date tomorrow. Fred has dinner plans made for us and he’s pretty thrilled with himself about the gift he’s gotten for me. No, he’s not popping the question. lol Whatever it is, he just got it in the mail. I’ve been trying to squeeze it out of him, but he won’t budge.

Well, I’ll be bringing along a container of these and the gift I got him. Last year I made him a gift, but this year I thought I’d get something a bit more “romantic”. He needs to get a hobby to make gift giving a bit easier for me! =)

What are you doing for Valentine’s Day? Will you be baking?

Need For Speed - The Guys

DreamWorks Pictures’ “Need for Speed” marks an exciting return to the great car culture films of the 1960s and ’70s, when the authenticity of the world brought a new level of intensity to the action on-screen. Tapping into what makes the American myth of the open road so appealing, the story chronicles a near-impossible cross-country journey for our heroes — one that begins as a mission for revenge, but proves to be one of redemption. Based on the most successful racing video game franchise ever with over 140 million copies sold, "Need for Speed" captures the freedom and excitement of the game in a real-world setting, while bringing to life the passion for the road that has made our love of cars so timeless.


The film centers around Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul), a blue-collar mechanic who races muscle cars on the side in an unsanctioned street-racing circuit. Struggling to keep his family-owned garage afloat, he reluctantly partners with the wealthy and arrogant ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). But just as a major sale to car broker Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots) looks like it will save Tobey's shop, a disastrous race allows Dino to frame Tobey for a crime he didn’t commit, and sending Tobey to prison while Dino expands his business out West.


Two years later, Tobey is released and set on revenge — but he knows his only chance to take down his rival Dino is to defeat him in the high-stakes race known as De Leon — the Super Bowl of underground racing. However to get there in time, Tobey will have to run a high-octane, action-packed gauntlet that includes dodging pursuing cops coast-to-coast as well as contending with a dangerous bounty Dino has put out on his car. With the help of his loyal crew and the surprisingly resourceful Julia, Tobey defies odds at every turn and proves that even in the flashy world of exotic supercars, the underdog can still finish first.

Like NEED FOR SPEED on Facebook: Facebook.com/NeedForSpeed

Follow NEED FOR SPEED on Twitter: @NeedforSpeed

Follow NEED FOR SPEED on Tumblr: http://needforspeedthemovie.tumblr.com/

Follow NEED FOR SPEED on Instagram: @NeedForSpeed

Visit the website: TheNeedForSpeedMovie.com

NEED FOR SPEED races into theaters everywhere on March 14th!

Facebook App Update For Android WARNING!

So, I don’t always look through my app updates when they come through. I’ll admit that to begin with. For some reason, just over a week ago, I happened to glance at the list that popped up with Facebook.

DO. YOU. READ. THEM?!

I was honestly stunned at what Facebook is looking for permission to do on our phones! This is from my phone and the pictures below are from my tablet.

Can someone explain this to me?!

1. What does Facebook need with reading our text messages? The ONLY reason I see for this is invasion of privacy. The things I put on Facebook, for the most part, I don’t mind that they see it. I have “private” conversations, that are really of no huge significance, but are simply private between the person I’m having with an myself. I understand that those conversations being on the world wide web makes them truly NOT private.

My TEXTS on the other hand? THOSE are private. Well, aside from the government and they’d truly be bored reading my texts. I see absolutely NO point of Facebook having or WANTING access to my text messages. As you can see above, the app can read ALL SMS messages regardless of content or confidentiality. Does this throw up ANY red flags?

2. Why would Facebook want to prevent my phone from sleeping. Granted, there may be some “valid” purpose that a techy person might be able to point to, but as a user, I don’t see one. They also want to be able to toggle my sync off and on? *Eye roll* Has anyone mentioned to them that they don’t ACTUALLY rule the world so much that they need to be in control of my phone syncing?

3. What would be the purpose of them doing a THING to my calendar? What business is it of THEIRS? They don’t need to see my day to day life. They want to do that, they can go check out Instagram. If I want them, Facebook, to know what time I’ll be doing something, that’s what I have a status update for On. Their. Site! Maybe they mean the calendar on their site, but that makes no sense. I’m rather positive they want to access my phone’s calendar.

To top that off, they want to be able to email guests…WITHOUT MY PERMISSION and it will APPEAR to come from me? Again, for real? Facebook needs that much control over what’s going on in everyone’s lives? Can I get a messenger boy here…”Ahem, Mimi would like to announce that Facebook is NOT God.” I just thought someone might need to put that out there for them.

Oh, and did you see, that not only can they read your calendar, they can read anything confidential in it. hahahahaha At least they’re straight forward that they’re going to snoop through your confidential business, and send your profile information to others.

4. I didn’t underline that bottom part in the first picture above, but you can see with your own eyes. lol UGH, *wry laugh* Facebook wants to modify your contacts, read my contacts and write a call log. “Write a call log”? Because…? On top of that, the app can call numbers which we could be charged for. So, Facebook decides they want to call China? They pick MY phone and make the call? Yea, far fetched, but this entire app update is far fetched!

5. So, say you’re sitting in bed at night going hanging out with your tablet and the camera on your device takes your picture…randomly…without your permission. What if you’re taking a leisurely bath scrolling through your email and “snap”. Well, this app can do that ANY time without your confirmation!

I understand apps need to have permissions to do certain things on our devices. Don’t get me wrong, but the apps should be to the USER’S benefit to interact with the company we have the app from, not to be in control of the phone. They want to be that in control of everything my phone does, they can start paying the bill.

Is anyone else rolling their eyes as much as me? I have NO clue of anything good that could come with authorizing this app. So, now every time updates come through, I have to be sure to do each one individually and read through what they want permission to do.

Do you blindly authorize or give updated permissions to apps?

I’ve Met Someone

I know I’ve been absent, haven’t had anything to share. I’ve been in a slump of sorts. Maybe even a bit of depression seeping in now and again. Getting through the holidays wasn’t easy. Fred and I struggled through holidays, not holiday related, but trying to figure out our relationship.

Coming out of the holidays, I haven’t had a lot of desire to blog. Well, that’s not true. I’ve wanted to blog, I just haven’t had the energy/mojo to get it done. I’ve made a list of things I’d like to talk about and the SITSgirls have monthly writing prompts that I’ve done a few times. I just haven’t blogged.

I’ve been SO desperate for friendships here. Sitting at home, working all day, by myself, isolated, has left me so dry inside. No friendly faces. No one knowing my name. No one knowing me here. It has been a very desolate time in my life, this past year.

I’m a people person. I crave interaction with others. All I’ve mostly had are my boys and Fred. Yes, we go to church, but it’s so big, there are rarely familiar faces. I come from a place where everywhere I went I was known. I’m a small town girl. People knew me, knew my kids.

A few weeks ago at church when I was dropping my son off to go to his class, there was a family ahead of me at church for the first time. I didn’t think much of it, then saw them in the service and decided I’d go introduce myself. They were super sweet and it was nice to connect with someone.

Last week, at the start of Bible study, I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to who was in my class. I don’t know people, so didn’t expect to see anyone familiar to me. As we were leaving class, the gal I had introduced myself to a couple weeks before stood up and said, “hi” to me!! A familiar face!

Well, tonight was a great night at church.  There was another new gal there with a BABY!! I again went up and introduced myself to her. I don’t know what it is that’s in me that just has to do that. It doesn’t always happen, sometimes it just strikes me. Maybe, because they’re new, I know how they feel and they’ll have a familiar someone…something I didn’t have.

She ended up sitting next to me and we had a very bonding conversation before class started. It was SO good. I connected with someone. I’m beginning to be known again. As we were winding down our getting-to-know-you, in walked my other new friend. And what does she do? she hugs me!! My heart was SO happy! I’m a hugger. To be hugged means a lot to me! Then she hugged me when class was over and she was leaving.

God knew I’ve come to the end of what I can bear without friends around me. I’m just so happy that I can go to church on Sunday and see familiar faces and have names to put with them. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out so they know that they’re known as well!

If you’re ever in a situation where there are new people, do you step up and introduce yourself?

Stainless Tub From Wind and Weather #TailgateBash #sp

One of the things I most want to do is have fun items for parties. For football season, I would love to have a whole spread of serving bowls, table décor, etc! I would love them for all kinds of events including the baseball season that’s just around the corner! For now, I’ve been focused on football and the Super Bowl!

We love all kinds of pop, juices and water, but filling the fridge isn’t conducive to having it readily available during a party. And yes, during the warmer months I’d love to have the option of having parties outside.

What I found at Wind & Weather was a fabulous stainless steel tub that comes with a stand so you can have it on the table. We don’t have an ice maker any more with our fridge so I ran to the convenience store down the road and grabbed two large bags of ice.

I was actually surprised at how much we could fit in the tub! Obviously everything stayed cold through the game and I left everything sitting on the table overnight so that the ice could melt. The one negative would be that there was a broken seal somewhere so it leaked the melted ice overnight. If you have a little welder that, can easily be fixed. I would say to be on the safe side, I would test it before you put it on a table or any other surface that you don’t want water getting on.

I also like the wrought iron folding stand. When I store the tub, I put the legs inside of it so they can be kept together. Overall, I love the look of the tub and stand and it’s functionality for any parties! I can’t wait to use it a lot more!