So Mad at Gap, Inc.

For the past hour, I have been looking at all of the Gap, Inc. websites because they are having a fabulous Give and Get 30% off program starting today through Sunday. My husband had to cash in AMEX points and he opted for Gap, Inc. gift cards for me. (Isn't he a gem!) For some reason AMEX cashed the points into small denomination gift cards, which of course, is a pain to enter in all 16 million numbers on the back of the card. But if it is what I have to do, it is what I have to do.

So, my total hits just over $150 and I qualify for free shipping...score! I then begin to enter in my gift cards. I enter in 2 gift cards successfully. Then I enter the 16-digit code on the back of my third card and get an error message..."You are only allowed to use two gift cards per purchase."

What!?!?! Why does it matter if I have more than two gift cards? Does it overload the system? Is it illegal in Gap-land to have more than 2 gift cards. Do you think I want to have more than two gift cards? Here's the quick answer, Gap, Inc...NO, I don't!!! But I had to take what was given to me by AMEX.

Then I thought to call customer service. Yeah, they closed at 2a.m. EST...it was 11:05p.m. PST when I attempted my call.

Am I upset...oh, just a wee bit. What a waste of over an hour. I can assume that the items will stay in my shopping bag, but who knows if they will still be around tomorrow morning if and when I call customer service again to rip them a new one - I mean kill them with kindness!

URGGGHHH! Oh, and I just missed Chelsea Lately as a result of it! Double URGGGHHH!!!

Don't Cry Over Burnt Cookies

I laugh at that title because I do get SO upset when I burn cookies, or they turn out too thin, or too thick. And I am such a perfectionist about my cookies that I don't like to let others eat them unless they meet my standards.

But I have come up with what I think is a great solution for these less than perfect cookies...ice cream sandwiches! Nothing is better on a hot summer day!

A couple of weeks ago I made cookies that turned out very flat, but they proved to be perfect for ice cream sandwiches. Of course, ice cream sandwiches are now my obsession and I secretly hope when I bake cookies that they will be too flat so I can make more cookies.

To make the ice cream sandwiches you can either use an ice cream sandwich maker - like the one I own, or you can use something like a round cookie cutter (just to keep the shape of the ice cream).

So, the next time you have a less than perfect batch of cookies, don't toss them in the trash...Make oh-so yummy ice cream sandwiches!

Kitchen Art Ice Cream Sandwich Maker featured above can be purchased at Target.com

Bachelorette Finale - She Says Yes to Ed!

Yes, I know after the awful ending to last season's Bachelor I said I would never watch the show again. Well...I lied!

Just when I thought the show couldn't add any more "production value," they had #3 guy, Reid, come back and attempt to propose to her on tonight's season finale. (Oh, and don't think that I didn't catch the volcano erupting after Jillian and Ed started making out, ABC!)

Thankfully, she didn't waiver and stuck to her guns and chose Ed. My husband said it was lame that they didn't jump in the pool after they got engaged. But I quickly told him, "Hello! That is what Jason and Melissa did and they don't want that curse!"

Now, let's just see how they are doing tomorrow night on the After the Rose show. Hopefully they are still together.

Image courtesy of ABC.com

Shopping is Exhausting!

Today I went shopping with my girlfriends for 3 hours...I can't tell you the last time I went shopping for that long. Maybe it was when I registered for my first baby at Babies R Us and had no clue of what I was doing. Yeah, and that overwhelming day was nearly 5 years ago. I probably have shopped a combined 3 hours in the past five years. Oh, and when I say "shopping," I mean that no children were around, because in my mind, shopping does not involve a squirmy baby in a stroller!

Of course, it is so much fun to hang out with friends, but man, walking around a mall is exhausting. Especially when you don't find anything! Store after store after store. Of course, since we have a fun girls' weekend in Las Vegas coming up, we are looking for cute things to wear. And cute things always seem to hide when you are looking for them. As my husband tells me, "You have a ton of cute clothes in your closet, why can't you just wear something you already have?" And while he is right, he doesn't take into consideration the exhilaration of finding something you like and then wearing it. (What a rush!!!)

But if you are out of practice of shopping like I am, here are a few tips:

• Be sure to bring some water and snacks
• wear comfy shoes in case you walk around more than expected
• but make sure you are wearing the appropriate accessories for trying clothes on (a.k.a. the right undergarments)
• possibly bring a sweater (indoor malls can get freezing!)
• if you aren't sure about something, put it on hold. If it calls your name at the end of your adventure, then you know it is meant to be yours. Plus, this can save you the strain of carrying additional bags while you are shopping at other stores

And don't get me wrong...I am glad shopping is exhausting! This way, I can call it my cardio for the day!

Image courtesy of eslpod.com

Hubby's High School Reunion- Not as Bad as I Thought

This past weekend was my husband's 20-year high school reunion. I have known about this day for quite some time because my husband was on the planning committee. Yes, he is a big dork like that (although, he claims it is the responsibility of a class officer to plan the reunion, and since he was his senior class Vice President, he was obligated.)

Of course, my husband volunteered to the do the slide show for the event. And not because he knows how to put together a fun slide show...because I know how to put together a fun slide show. Being the perfectionist that I am, I couldn't just throw this slide show together. I spent at least 20 hours working on the 9-minute masterpiece. And while I complained the entire time I was putting it together (because it's my style), it actually made my night a lot more fun, trying to recognize the faces I put in the slide show.

Here are a few reasons I found it fun to attend my husband's reunion:

• I didn't have to talk to anyone I didn't want to talk to
• I didn't have any preconceived ideas or memories about anyone so I could really talk to anyone I wanted to
• No one at the reunion had memories or preconceived notions about me
• I met my husband's high school girlfriend and she was very nice (and the interaction wasn't awkward at all!)
• I could walk up to anyone at the reunion and ask if they were "so and so" in the slide show and explain I was asking that because I was the one who put the slide show together
• My husband graduated with Janet Evans (Olympic Gold Medal swimmer) and I got a chance to talk to her...she is such a nice person and my brush with a celebrity for the evening!
• I am 6 years younger than my husband's class...(that is probably my favorite!)

I have my own 10-year college reunion coming up and I thought it would be easier to not bring my hubby because I would just have to babysit him. And, of course, part of me wants to impress everyone I went to school with. After attending his reunion, I realized that my hubby would be the best way I could impress any past classmates.

If you have a reunion coming up, I highly recommend you go. It's fun to see the people from your past. Below you will find the slide show I made. I am proud, I can't help it!

The Mini S'more

Everyone loves the campfire treat S'mores. Graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate are such a yummy combination.

But what if you are trying to lose a few pounds or you just don't want your child eating an entire graham cracker with a massive marshmallow and healthy piece of chocolate?

In comes the mini s'more. I will admit that I came up with this idea when my son asked to make s'mores this afternoon and I only had mini marshmallows and chocolate chips. But that was okay. The last ingredient I needed was Golden Graham cereal and my mini s'mores would be complete!

As you can see in the image above, I did leave off the graham top because that's how I roll. But you can make these however you want. And what is great...my son was able to make these easily, eat 3 of them, and feel like he had the best treat ever. Oh yeah, I had a couple, too!

Again, the recipe is simple: one Golden Graham square, one mini marshmallow, and one chocolate chip. Assembly time: 5 seconds. Enjoyment: endless!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I am so thrilled that my son loves swimming! He learned so much last year in his swimming lessons, and is now having so much fun playing in the pool with his friends. And I am so proud of him and his fearlessness. Last week while swimming with our neighbors, he jumped into the deep end and swam to the step in the deep end attempting to follow our neighbor. Monkey see, Monkey do.

Then he saw Daddy and Uncle Matt jumping into the pool doing cannon balls, and now he jumps into the pool and yells, "Cannon Ball!" Monkey see, Monkey do.

Then this past Sunday while swimming with an 8-year old, he decided he wanted to learn how to dive. The video above shows his attempts. Monkey see, Monkey do. (You will see in the video that his second attempt is more of a jump than a dive, but I grabbed my camera late as I was in awe of him diving in the deep end!)

Thank You Regis and Kelly!!!

I don't want to brag but I am so excited that I can't not share with you some exciting news.

I will admit that I am a super big geek and love entering contests, hence why I like to have giveaways and contests. For the past 7 years I have entered all the Travel Trivia games that have been on Live with Regis and Kelly.

Almost 4 years ago, I was thrilled when I won a trip to Hollywood, FL. I know, it doesn't sound that exciting, but it was actually a beautiful place and we were well taken care of while we were there.

So between October 2005 and now I have entered all of their trivia contests hoping I would win another prize.

This morning, I finally got the wake up call that I was hoping for. At 6:19 a.m. PST our phone rang. My husband grabbed it and handed it to me. In the past couple of weeks, I had felt like I was really due to get the call from their show again, so I prepped my husband telling him to let me answer the phone. As I turned on the phone I could already hear Regis talking in the background when I said hello. I was ecstatic! I was on the phone with Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa!

I talked to them for about a minute answering their questions. As part of the contest, you had to submit a photo, and I had submitted a picture of me in the cockpit of an airplane (see above). Why that picture, you ask? Well, for starters, it is one of the few pictures I have of just myself. Plus, I thought it might be a memorable picture that would catch someone's eye. So they asked me if I was a pilot, and naturally I had to tell them no.

Then it was time to answer the question: What show did Tom Cavanagh star in that Kelly (Ripa) also appeared in? I had recorded the episode that Tom Cavanagh was on this past Friday but luckily I knew the answer anyway. He was on Ed.

Woo hoo! Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii here we come!

Image courtesy of LiveRegisandKelly.com

A 90-Minute Project Turns into a 12-Hour Ordeal

As the strollers piled up in our garage, my husband's car managed to lose its spot in the garage. (Don't worry, my car still has a spot!) But we decided to finally do something about it.

After nearly two years of talking about it, we finally bought an outdoor shed. Woo hoo! I know, it is an extremely exciting purchase. It is right up there with Tiffany jewelry. (If you didn't sense my sarcasm in any of that, please realize it now.)

We decided to buy the Rubbermaid Big Max shed because it is 7'x7'x7' (very lucky, I am sure) and Home Depot had it on sale for 100 bucks off the regular price. They had me at "sale." Because it comes in a box that weighs 300 pounds (that detail according to my husband), we opted to have the un-assembled shed delivered. That delivery, naturally, ate into all of our sale savings, but at least we didn't have to rent a big enough truck to haul this thing.

So, it was delivered yesterday morning at 7:15a.m. My husband went outside to the backyard to assemble this monstrosity at 9:45.m. today. The directions said it would take two people 90 minutes to put this thing together. As I look at the clock now, it is 10:03p.m. and my husband is still outside putting the finishing touches on this thing.

Hmmm. 90 minutes vs. 12 hours. I don't really think they are the same amount of time. Granted, he did do a lot of the job by himself. I helped him twice for 15 minutes at a time and our neighbor helped him for the last two hours. And he did take a few breaks to eat dinner, help out with bath time, and make popcorn for the kids' during movie time. But come on, where on earth did they get 90 minutes from...an outdoor shed pit crew time trial??

As a matter of fact, my husband just walked in and saw that I was writing about his wonderful assembly experience and laughed. He told me it was definitely a two person job. Oh yeah, and he is glad that it is over. I'd say there are two of us that are glad it is over! Now we need to cross our fingers and hope that it is enough space to hold everything in the garage!

How Many Calories are in 1 M&M?

My husband discovered a wonderful treat at the grocery store today...100 calorie pack of M&M's. And I was pleasantly surprised that there were 30 M&M's in this 100 calorie pack. (I was expecting maybe 10.) So, if you do the math of 30 divided by 100, that means there is about 3.33 calories in each M&M. How can that be possible??? That seems too good to be true!?!?!

If you think about it, the chewing of the M&M alone would burn off the 3.33 calories.

The other good news...now that you know 30 M&M's are put in a 100 calorie pack, you don't have to always buy those specific packs. You can buy a regular bag of M&M's and create your own rations. (Hey, if you only want a 50 calorie snack, just eat 15 M&Ms.)

By the way, these are the plain Milk Chocolate M&M's that I am talking about. I don't know about you, but I feel a lot better about eating M&M's now. Let's just hope my clothes feel the same way!

Image courtesy of mms.com

Everything is Better on a Stick

Looking for a way to jazz up your kid's lunch? Put it on a stick!

While my son was playing a video game at nickjr.com, he stumbled upon a recipe for something called "Tang-Hulu." The recipe called for different types of fruit and a sugary glaze. However, I decided to skip the glaze (because it sounded messy) and just put my son's favorite fruits on a stick.

And let me tell you...what a difference! I asked my son if he wanted apple slices after dinner tonight, and he replied, "no." Then I asked if he wanted Tang-Hulu and he immediately started to list off all the fruits he wanted on his stick.

Now, here are the simple instructions for making skewers for your kids:

1. Purchase bamboo skewers
2. Cut up into bite-sized pieces the items you want to put on the skewer (fruits, veggies, meats, candies, etc.)
3. Place the foods on the skewer (if you think your child can handle it, let him/her place the foods on the skewers)
4. Make sure to cut off the pointed tip of the skewer so that your child won't get hurt
5. Come up with a creative name for your skewer (i.e. Tang-Hulu); maybe even let your child name your edible creation

Of course, you should always watch your child eat from the skewer to make sure they don't hurt his/herself.

And if you are having a tough time getting your child to eat vegetables, this is the perfect way to make it more exciting.

These skewers can also make for beautiful decorations at a party. My favorite party favors are candy skewers! Yummy!