Tuesday, November 12, 2013

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

When I was living and working in Saipan, I had a pair of smoking slippers just like this:

Velvet Smoking Slippers  //  Black Velvet Tapestry Flats  //  Festive Holiday Embroidered Christmas Tree Flat Driving Shoes  //  Size 6. $48.00, via Etsy.

I had no idea they would ever come back in style.  They would have been sweet for this holiday season.  Alas, I'm sure they are in a landfill in the CNMI.

Mega Blocks Hot Wheels House Party

As I reported last week, I was selected to host a Mega Blocks Hot Wheels House Party.  If you haven't seen them, here's a picture:


If you are a five year old boy (or girl) or forty five year old man, you understand how completely insanely over-the-top awesome this toy is.  It is a HOT WHEELS that comes apart and can be rebuilt over and over and over (which comes in handy on a long holiday weekend.)

We received our box of supplies from House Party which included two tracks and eleven "Turbo Tubes" which contained a car that can be built and rebuilt in three different ways (according to the directions) and a bajillion different ways according to my five year old.



We had eleven children attend the party, so each kid got his/her own car to build and rebuild.  The 7-8-9 year olds built their cars, raced them, then raced out the door and into the fall sunshine.



The 5 and 6 year olds built them, raced, rebuilt, raced again, rinse, repeat.


Not all little girls are into dolls, as you can tell.  This future STEM major raced and rebuilt all afternoon:



This kid (and his dad) loved it so much, they went home with a track, too.



You may notice that I have several photos of the cars but none of the two tracks.  Sadly, the tracks did not hold up to the rigors of the racing circuit. (Full disclosure: "sadly" is an understatement.  Each track took over an hour to put together, step by frustrating step, then promptly fell apart each time a child glanced at it from across the room.  Or breathed.)  After repeated efforts to repair the tracks after every race, we finally put a piece of tape on the kitchen floor and used that as our racetrack.  That was the only disappointment of the day.



I made cupcakes and banana and pumpkin breads, served with juice boxes, soda, and red wine. (Note: the half up/half down striped wallpaper in the kitchen - the beige on the wall to the left is glue that needs to be scrubbed off.)



All in all, a great time was had by all.  I enjoyed being able to share the product with friends and was thrilled to have been chosen to host the party.


*Full disclosure time: I was given a free party pack in exchange for hosting the party. I was not asked to write about my experience, nor did I receive any compensation. All opinions expressed herein are entirely my own and not at all swayed by the swag.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Food, Glorious Food!

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"I don't need a whole lot to eat, but this month I know I'm not going to buy any meats."

LEON SIMMONS, 63, one of more than 47 million Americans whose food stamp allotment was cut this month.


What do you mean he don't eat no meat?

Tomorrow is Scouting for Food Day.  Do your fellow man a favor and donate food to your local Cub/Boy/Eagle Scout so they can fill up our - or your - local food banks. 


Trying to get my act together

Tomorrow is my first House Party.  It occurred to me last night that I should probably begin making plans for it.  I invited friends weeks ago, so I know I will have a good turnout.  I've seen the Mega Blocks Hot Wheels in the party box and those are going to keep the kids entertained for hours.  Building, racing, taking apart, rebuilding.  The Dynamic Duo is overly excited about it.  I think adding juice boxes and making cupcakes will be all I need to do, no?  Of course, Wayne Manor needs to be cleaned from top to bottom, and I am not looking forward to that.

In a sign of emotional and financial maturity, a Barbie hoarder is having an estate sale and I'm vowing not to go.


 Furthermore, I'm vowing to get rid of all the Barbie stuff that I'm not emotionally attached to (note: NOT THE DREAM HOUSE!!!).  However, I am seriously considering driving 1.5 hours into Maryland to buy wrought iron gates to go with my new-to-me (and recently painted) wrought iron fencing for the backyard.





Of course, we are also really trying to tighten our belts.  But once the fencing is put up in the yard, we need a way to access the garden from the garage.  My legs are long, but I don't want to climb over the fence with a pitchfork in hand.