ShowBiz

I have a pretty extraordinary memory.  I don't mean like extraordinary as in special - I just mean extra-ordinary.  Understand?  I feel like there's a different meaning when you say the words separately.  Out of the blue, I'll smell, see or hear something and it immediately takes me into a time machine.  The furthest back I can remember is probably 5yrs old, beyond that - - I'm not so sure.

Most of you are aware of Chuck E. Cheese's...but do you remember what it was BEFORE it became Chuck. E Cheese's?

Do you?

How about now?

It was ShowBiz Pizza! 

 

And they had a full on creepy animatronic band!

I remember the cheerleader and the fat bear....not much else

I'm SHOCKED I was able to find a picture of this ride....It was my favorite!

I can remember thinking when I was at the top

I thought I was hot stuff above everyone.

 

ShowBiz and Chuck E. Cheese's used to a dinner theatre with some games.

Now it's a giant playground with some games and a more

interactive show....oh the good ole' days - where have you gone???

Deals Deals Deals

A few years ago I happened upon a coupons/deals website from a link I clicked on Facebook.  This awesome website/blog is called Freebies2Deals.  If you visit the website a couple of times a day, you will catch some awesome deals available online and in store.  Not every thing has applied to my wants directly - but a lot of the time I see something I like!

I credit this website for almost all of the deals I've scored.  From FREE SHIPPING for The Disney Store, paying under $9.00 for 648 Huggies wipes on Amazon.  Yesterday she listed a sales on Kohl's website for "The Big One" solid bath towels.  She even shared coupon codes that discounted the towels to only $2.16/ea!!

I was able to purchase 13 large bath towels for only $29 total!  The color selection became pretty scarce as the day went on, but I am happy with my 7 pink and 6 brown towels on their way to me next week!  If you're like me....you have some pretty decent towels, but they have 5+yrs of use on them.  Towels are one of the last things I think about when I want to replace something or buy new.  But for under $30, I couldn't pass this up.

You might still be able to catch the deal on other items - all the towels are sold out now.  Here's the direct link to Melea's blog where you can try the codes!

I've added her blog to the links on the left of my page!

What do you drive?

I'm on my 5th car...this sounds like a lot and I suppose it is.  At least I've intentionally changed cars, not wrecked a million times.

But I must say, right now the car I have is by far my favorite!

In March 2013 I traded my 2010 Kia Forte for a 2012 Mazda5.  

After having Persephone, we hated the lack of space getting in and out of our cars.  The Mazda5 Sport is what I call a van/station wagon/sedan.  It's low like a car, but long like a van/wagon.  It seats 6, sliding doors on both sides.  The 2 seats in middle row are captain chairs, they have arm rests, can recline and slide forward/backward for easy access.  They also have a storage compartment underneath both middle seats. 

When I went to "look around", I asked them if they had any 2012 models they were looking to move since it was almost 4mos into 2013 and they would be releasing all 2014 models soon.  I test drove a silver Mazda5 that only had 8mi on it.  Black leather interior - so nice, but I didn't expect that would be the one we got. 

It wasn't until all of the paperwork was finalized and they detailed the car that we noticed, not only were the seats leather, but someone had customized it and never purchased it.  So we also had dual DVD players with wireless headphones for both headrests facing the second row - SCORE!  Of course we haven't turned Persephone around yet, but still I thought it was a great "secret".

It handles just like the Mazda3, in fact I believe it's built on the same chassis.  It turns smooth, speeds up well even though it's only a 4cyl.  It has a manual option which I like, it's like being able to drive stick without worrying with a clutch.  The only addition I would like to make eventually is to tint the windows. 

I have every intention of keeping this car until it's paid off.  We have no reason to switch.  I know some people think vans are stupid and you say you'll NEVER drive one.  I've always liked them :)

My first car was a 1999 Mercury Cougar

Which was a great car, got up and went quick

and was sleek like a speedy car...I miss it sometimes

 

I traded it in for a 2001 Honda CR-V

I loved this car too.  I had never driven an SUV and this one

drove so fun.  It had good storage and was of course reliable.

 

I traded it in for a 2007 Kia Sportage

This was probably my dumbest trade EVER.

Hardy had just traded in one of his cars for a brown Kia Sportage 

I loved the way it drove and I loved the new car smell, so I took my sassy butt

up to the Kia dealership and got the same exact car in teal.

 

When I got tired of the Sportage (which I did quickly)

I traded it for the 2010 Kia Forte

 

And as of March 2013 we are where we are now with the lovely Mazda5

Zoom Zoom

Gone in a flash

One minute you have LOOOONG hair and the next....ya don't!

 

I absolutely LOVE it!

A BIG THANK YOU to 

Krystal @ Salon Brichelle in Flowery Branch

 

About two months ago I dyed my hair

Had no idea when it faded it would be red...

Time for an update on the color!

Family Beach Photos

One of the nights during our Destin vacation, we all dressed in white/khaki and went to the beach for some photos.  As I've said before, my sister in laws camera is pretty fantastic so she was able to get some great shots!  She's been the one who took our family photos last year and again this spring.

Here's the fam

From Left to Right

Halie, Hope, Holden, Bobbie, Doug, Hardy, Persephone and myself

Hope (Hardy's sister) has three children

Heath

Halie

Holden

Heath is in the ARMY and currently in Washington so he's not pictured.

Bobbie & Doug are Hardy's parents

Sadly, when my fat ass was trying to stand up after these pictures

I totally knocked Persephone in the head with my knee and

she went face first into the sand.

P.S. White isn't slimming AT ALL.

But she seemed to enjoy it and continued to play, roll in the sand

Halie, Hope and Holden

Last but not least - a pool shot!

Time flies

Persephone will be 22mos old on Monday 7/21/14.

22mos old....

Almost TWO

Like officially a toddler...a little kid

I'm not sure how I feel about this upcoming development.   Our baby is no longer a baby.  Several friends on Facebook are pregnant.  They're posting pictures of their cute baby belly's, doing blog posts about their progress.  I was happy pregnant.  I loved the experience.  And when I see these women posting pictures of their bellies and videos of the sweet baby kicks, it makes me miss it even more.

Hardy says no more kids....I say never say never.

Hard to believe July 20, 2012 I was 29 weeks.  

You can read that post here !

This was the closest photo I could find to July....

Destin Vacation

Some of you may or may not know, Hardy's father also works for King Green.  He's in the pest control division.  Each December King Green hosts a Christmas party for all the employees with a fantastic dinner and prizes!!  This past year Hardy's father's name was called and he picked a 5 night stay at one of the Kings' gulf shore condos.  They chose to stay in Destin and this past week was the vacation!

The condo is located at Pelican Beach resort in downtown Destin.  It was the perfect location between Panama and Ft. Walton.  We were close to many restaurants (fancy and non fancy).  The condo itself was a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 full bath with a dining room, living room and full kitchen.  Even had a washer and dryer!

We arrived Wednesday late evening so we just ate Wendy's and explored the condo.  The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the beach.  Since I'm the only one who ever thinks to take photos, you think I would have taken some, but I didn't.  Instead I remembered my camera AFTER the beach when we headed to the pool.

Persephone loves to swim.  Her Mimi and Pops bought her this cute life jacket a few weeks ago and it has given her so much confidence.  It scares me a little how much of a daredevil she can be, but I guess that's just proof you aren't born with fear!

 

She had a blast on this float

P.S. This is my first time using Google to upload a video instead

of YouTube so I have no idea how it'll look on other computers.

That night we had dinner at Margaritaville and walked around the Harborwalk Village for a little while. 

 I know I look huge, but this was the only family photo I got on my camera.

Hardy and I even enjoyed a train ride with miss priss.

Here she is holding our tickets punched by the conductor

To say it was a tight fit for parents is a slight understatement.

The next day we returned to the beach again, which was short lived.  She prefers the pool I guess because we can let her freely swim...whereas in the ocean I'm a nervous wreck.

That night we tried to do a family photo session with his sisters camera.  I haven't seen the pictures yet, but hopefully there were some cute ones of us and Persephone.  Here are a few I took with my phone.

That evening we were all pretty tired so we just stayed in and had Little Caesars pizza and watched Frozen.

Saturday we got up and headed to the beach since it was our last day.  We managed to stay in the water a little longer before Persephone demanded to go back to the pool.  The water was crystal clear, so beautiful.  I prefer the Gulf over Myrtle Beach ANY DAY.  The beach itself was even cleaner.

Since it was our last night, we had dinner at AJ's which was a little higher than we wanted to spend for food, but it was worth it.  Delicious food.  Persephone loves corn.

Selfie....

After dinner, we took some photos with Persephone and the AJ's Ford truck.  She had a good time pretending to drive.

If the window wasn't clean, it is now

I almost fell asleep on the drive back.  It was just soooo long and not much to look at.  We got home around 5pm, ate dinner..gave P a bath and let her sleep in her souvenir shirt....CUTIE PIE - - I don't even remember why Hardy was making that face in the background.

Until next time beach, we will be back next year for sure!