Brand New Record

Yesterday I blogged about ice cream at 8:30am---well today I have it beat. A flooded garage due to a blown water heater, which means no water until the property management company fixes it (and we all know how on top of things those companies are) warrents a WHOLE BAG OF CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZELS before 8am. I'm lovin' life today!

Ice Cream O'Clock

For all you Harry Potter fans...remember Mrs. Weasley's magic clock that told her the mortal peril status of all her family members? Well, I have a magic clock too--you are jealous, I know! It is internal but that is neither here nor there. This wonderful, magical clock of mine tells me when it is time to have a bowl of ice cream in order to maintain motherhood sanity! Some days it chimes around 8pm when I've had a long but fulfilling day. I'm ready to put my feet up, watch my favorite tivo'd shows and dig into something light and refreshing like Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream.

Other days it chimes a little earlier--around 2pm--when I've put the boys down for a nap (who don't normally take naps but go to sleep in order to stay in the world of the living for another day!) The rascals--mostly Ryan but Jason is turning into quite the button pusher--have given me a headache. I need peace and quiet for at least an hour otherwise--in the words of Madagascar's King Julienne "i'm going to freak on them"! I pull out something a bit more potent from the freezer like Cookies 'n Cream. I eat a few hearty scoops, watch some Grey's Anatomy reruns and feel ready to face the rest of my day.

Every once in a while, that glorious magic clock chimes first thing in the morning--like earlier this week when Ryan decided that our digital camera needed a BATH! That's right folks, I was stuck on the couch feeding Collin when Jason comes running in with a dripping camera--Ryan following closely, wailing about "BATHTUB TIME" and angry that Jason ruined his fun. This was around 8:30am, so what did I do--instead of exploding I put the boys upstairs watching Toy Story and I pulled out something potent, lethal & completely necessary--Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl. It is chocolaty, fudgey, creamy with thick ribbons of real peanut butter running through it. I thought about a bowl and spoon but threw that notion out the window. I simply grabbed the carton, plopped on the sofa beside my drooling camera and dug in with the ice cream scoop shaped like a pig!

Thank you magic ice cream clock for saving me from throttling my children--you can chime at me anytime! Now all I need is a magic exercise clock that chimes right after my ice cream clock and saves my ever expanding backside!

Alison's Pantry

I came across a great company when I lived in AZ. They offered me an opportunity to work with them when I got back to Vegas and now that Collin is here, I finally took them up on their offer. Alison's Pantry is based in Utah--I'm one of two people working for them in the Vegas area. Their specialty is FOOD--which you all know is right up my alley--even if that simply means eating it all the time. Actually Alison's Pantry is simply another "purchase" point (like grocery stores) for manufacturers to market their products. They sell everything from gourmet baking mixes, holiday treats, desserts, cookie-bread-roll doughs, frozen meats, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, pre-made soups and even bulk items like Costco or Sams. They even have a section for emergency preparedness, offering items like dried milk, oats, cocoa powder, canning supplies, containers, kitchenware, emergency supplies/kits and so much more. Each month Alison's Pantry puts out a new catalog (click here). They carry consistent items, again much like Costco, but each month they offer specials based on holidays and what manufacturers want marketed so the catalog is always changing and offering something new. Each month I'll be hosting a "catalog & tasting" party so that people who would like to learn more about A.P. can come, ask questions, place orders and sample their delicious products. I even have an email list where I send out specials, product updates, recipes and party information. If you're in the Vegas area and would like to join the list, leave your email address in the comments section and I'll add you. I even have a blog focusing on A.P., their great products, recipes and various specials they'll be offering. Feel free to check it out (A.P. blog). I'm excited about getting started with them, love their products and hope you do too!

Revival

*I posted this last year, about this same time--I tried coming up with new material but nothing else would do it justice!

It is drawing closer, I can sense it--the way you can feel someone watching you from behind. Each day I grow more anxious as the knots in my stomach move closer to the base of my throat. It is this time of year, late summer, which brings on an antsy-itch I can't scratch-time is dragging, sort of feeling. What might be the cause of this unusual behavior you ask?

It is COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON! It is that time of year when grown men cry and sweet old ladies punch other sweet old ladies sitting next to them for wearing the wrong color or cheering for the wrong team. You may think I'm crazy--one too many sleepless nights, a few too many chocolate brownies for breakfast. But let's be honest, who can ignore the feeling you get watching throngs of excited fans walk into a college stadium during a fall afternoon? The best is when the sun is just beginning to lower in the sky and the autumn leaves are shinning in the dull light. The air is crisp and so electric that the hair on your arms stand up, you almost can't help but run to your seat--even though you are an hour early--because you just can't wait to see the green of the field. The smell of grilling burgers hangs sweet and heavy in the late afternoon air and you feel the swell of pride as the band beats out your fight song. Complete strangers stand in unison, chanting as your team screams confidently out of the tunnel. It is a religious experience.

I've teared up a few times when the fight song is sung or an incredible, unbelievable, almost impossible catch is made. The best is watching the shear, uninhabited joy that grown men get from seeing messes of pads and helmets crunch together with jarring force. There is something to be said of the effort athletes give to their craft, the sacrifice, energy and soul with which they work and the simple pleasure derived from doing it well. Kids rightfully worship 18-25 year olds like they were war heroes and to those kids, watching those men exert every ounce of strength left on that field of battle, they are! College football is every metaphor, every cliche, every emotion, every everything. If you have never been to a game, a college game played not for money or endorsements but for the sheer glory of the fight--REPENT NOW--go, cheer, let loose, eat great food, be inspired. It is an experience all it's own!

You can sense it can't you...it is coming and you will never be the same again!