Heat

I know it has been awhile. I have been spending entirely too much time on Facebook, and busy spending time with my family. I am working on a slew of different posts (sorry to those who have a feed reader, you will probably get slammed with a bunch when I am done).

In the meantime, I thought I would leave you with this article that I came across while in London. I literally laughed out loud while reading this...and now that we are deep in the summer it is even more comical. We have a forcast of heat over 100 degrees this entire week. According to this...we would all be dead. :) (Or atleast those of you that live in AZ)

Girly Time

Dear Sydney,

Today I turned 30! That is the age that seems to make people feel REALLY OLD! You wanna know a secret? You aren't really old when you turn 30...in fact it is almost the opposite. I am so thankful to be the age I am because that means that I have you. If I was still in my early twenty's I would be enjoying life with out you in it.

Instead I was able to enjoy my birthday by taking you along with me. We went and got haircuts and pedicures. It was so much fun.

I loved being able to sit and talk with you about "all the pretty colors."
I loved seeing your big smile when when we chopped our hair.
I loved watching you suck on your 'yummy' sucker waiting patiently to have my hair done.
I loved watching you grin ear to ear, and stare at your fingers as they were drying in the pretty pink shade.

Life at 30 is great. In fact it is fabulous. I have a wonderful husband, 2 handsome sons, and a very beautiful daughter....by the way...that is you. I am so thankful that I continue to grow up. That I get to spend my days helping you and your brothers. So many things would not be possible if time stood still. Aging is a wonderful thing. I am just thankful that I can share it with you!

I love you so much my lil' Syd.

Love,
Mom

In Honor of my Birthday

Today I am 30! I still can't believe it, but I am looking forward to what life awaits for me. It is hard to believe that I am what I thought was soooo old, but here I am. I feel young, and happy. I am thankful for what I have experienced this far.

Since I have been a lazy blogger I thought I would repost this from last year. Enjoy!

I thought I would share the email that my sister Nancy has compiled. She sends this to everyone a little bit before their birthday. It is stock full of all the different things you can get for free on or around your birthday. It is great because it means we get to celebrate all month long! Alot of these are here in AZ, but there are still some that are available in other areas. Just check to see if there is a location near you.

I.D.’s or birth certificates are usually checked and you must do these on your actual birthday:

Hollywood Video: free video rental
Joe's Real BBQ: free lunch or dinner
Joe’s Farm Grill: free lunch or dinner up to $10
Korean BBQ on Northeast corner of Alma School & Guadalupe: free meal
Outback Steakhouse: Free Blooming Onion - W/Photo ID
Krispy Kremes: Free Dozen Donuts (right now the only one open in AZ is at Power & the 60)

I.D.’s are not usually checked:

Most restaurants will give you a free dessert on your birthday so I don’t usually list those unless it is a little different

Red Robin: free birthday sundae plus free dinner if you are signed up for their email list below
Mi Amigos: free dessert with a Polaroid picture of you on your birthday.
Chevy’s Fresh Mexican: free dessert, song, and sombrero
Claim Jumper: Free mudpie
Macaroni Grill: free chocolate cake and Italian opera singer to sing Happy Birthday
The Gilbert House: Free dessert
Oreganos: Free Pizookee (half baked cookie with ice cream on top)

Some websites that have sent me freebies on my birthday (What’s great about these is you usually don't have to use them on your birthday -allowing you to spread the freebies out longer throughout the month- most give you 1-4 weeks to use them):

Register at any Danny’s Family Car wash for their rewards program and you will get a free birthday car wash, a free wash for joining plus other goodies!

Register for the Abuelo’s e-Club and they will send you a card for a free appetizer just for registering and then a free entrée on your birthday and on your anniversary!

Register for the Golden Spoon eclub and you will get a free frozen yogurt coupon emailed to you on your birthday plus other coupons throughout the year.

Register for the Dukes email club and you will get an email for a free meal on your birthday, they will also send you other freebies throughout the year. All of their locations are in Washington – works out great if you are in the Seattle area.

Register at Arizona Auto Wash and get a free car wash on your birthday-you can register the day of your birthday too!

Register for Z'club at Z Tejas and they email out a coupon for a free meal or $10 off your order.

Register for the email club at Pasta Pomodoro and they email out a coupon for a free entrée.

Register for the Souper Fresh Club at Souper Salad and they email out a coupon for a free buffet.

Register for the Birthday Club at The Keg and get a free prime rib dinner on your birthday- you have to register at the restaurant and they send you a postcard by mail. (This is by far the best one on this list! The meal is worth $30!...and the food is amazing!)

Register for the Club at NYPD Pizza at any of their locations and they will email you a coupon for a free dessert on your birthday.

Register for Marie Callenders at a location and they will send you a coupon for $5 off an entrée and a free piece of pie.

Register for the eclub at Red Robin and they will send you a gift for signing up and then a free burger on your birthday (which you can use on any of their entrees.)

Register for the mailing list for Malees and they will send you an email good for an entrée up to $19 for free!

Register for the email list for Maggiano’s and they will send you a coupon for $10 off of a $20 purchase.

Register for the free birthday dinner at The Vine Tavern & Eatery and they will send you a postcard for a free dinner up to $10

Register for the Sonic Cruisers Club and they will email you a free cream slush coupon on your birthday.

Register online at Damon's Steakhouse Buy 1, Get 1 Free Entree, Birthday song and More!

Register online at Daphne's Greek Café, Join their eClub and get a free meal on your birthday as well as other discounts

Register online at Quiznos Subs and get a Birthday Gift

Register online for Rockfish Restaurant and get a Free Item near Birthday - Locations: Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina

Join the Pig Club at Famous Daves and get a SURPRISE BIRTHDAY GIFT ( maybe a piece of birthday cake, an appetizer, some ribs, or even an All-American Feast! )

Register for Buca di Beppo’s e-club and receive a free dessert

Register for the Subway Birthday club and get a free 6 in. sub for your birthday

Register for the Juice it Up! SmoothE club and get a free birthday gift.

Register for the Peter Piper Pizza eClub and you can sign your kids up for the birthday club to receive a postcard for a free kid pizza

Register for Auntie Anne’s perfect rewards club at and you get a coupon every month.

Just for kids:

Baskin Robbins Birthday Club: get a free ice cream cone

Marble Slab Creamery: for a free ice cream cone (kids under 12)

California Pizza Kitchen:free kids meal

Medieval Times (they send you a free kids admission ticket): this is offered at the Dallas Texas location email dallassecretary@medievaltimes.com your childs name, complete mailing address, and date of birth to join the kids birthday club.

Bob Evans Restaurant Birthday Club: free kids meal coupon

Chevys Fresh Mex Restaurant: you have to register at the location and they send you a card for a free kids meal on your birthday.

Burger King: Join the BK Kids Club at any location you can get an application and they will send you a coupon for a free kids meal in the mail.

Sonic: Join the birthday club for a free wacky pack kids meal on your birthday at

Bookmans: Join the Kids Club at any Bookmans and receive $5 postcard for your birthday plus 10% off all year plus a membership kit with cool stuff.

Denny’s: For kids under 10 – you can get the form at Denny’s or on the web, mail it in and you will get a free entrée and sundae on your birthday.

Let me know if you find any other great freebies to add to my list and have fun!!

Grapes

I love grapes. In fact I love most fruits. One night Caden and I were watching Wipeout (I love that show...almost just because I love to hear Caden giggle). I thought it would be nice to get some grapes out to snack on while we watched. I took out the crate of grapes, broke off a bunch, rinsed them off, and put them on a paper towel on the table.

Caden and I sat and ate them. We discussed how YUMMY these grapes were tasting. They were crisp, and super juicy...just perfect! We ate one whole side, and then flipped it over. I grabbed a couple more grapes, and that is when it happened.

What was that??? I just saw something move! I took a closer look and lo and behold....there was a LIVE spider!!!!!! Lets just say I freaked out a bit, but then ran and grabbed my camera. I snapped some pictures, and then smashed the beegeezees out of it!
This is a close up of the previous picture. Kinda cute in a creepy way...but I sure don't want another one in my grapes anytime soon.After scouring the internet I ended up finding this picture of a jumping spider. I am pretty sure this is the kind that was living in my grapes....I am just thankful it didn't jump!

Grapes anyone???