#badmoms

One of the most important things in my life is my relationships.  Of course that means my relationship with my husband as well as my kid, but another set of extremely important relationships are those with my girls.

As a wife and mom, I feel as though society expects a lot out of me and, in turn, I expect a lot out of myself.  In addition to my very full time job, I am expected to take care of my family’s health, do chores like cooking and cleaning, run errands, take my son to his various activities, and generally keep a positive attitude.  While I have no problem doing these things most of the time, there are times where I just want to say enough’s enough and go out with my girls.

I try to schedule one extracurricular activity weekly whether that’s going to a concert or a broadway show, attending a movie, taking a painting class, or just meeting for dinner.  I have a few groups of people I spend time with and try to rotate through them so I get to see all my favorite people as much as possible.

Last night, I did something a little out of the ordinary, but extremely amazing.  I went on a girl’s trip to Louisville to see P!nk!

First we met at a salon to get manis and pedis.  The best part about the salon we went to is they had a bar!  I got to try a new drink:  vodka and orange juice with a splash of cranberry.  It was delicious!

Then, after a quick bite at Panera, the six of us piled in a van and headed south a few hours.  The whole commute was filled with laughter, jokes, and a ton of humorous conversation.

We got to Louisville with enough time to primp, but when they told us the room wasn’t ready, we had to set up camp in the lobby!  Of course about 10 minutes after we had everything unpacked so we could do our hair and makeup, we received the call that our rooms were cleaned and ready to be used.

The caravan loaded up the 6 million bags and headed to the twelfth floor.  If you think 6 women would overpack for less than 24 hours away from home, you would be right!

Once dolled up, we headed to Doc Crows, a restaurant recommended by my bestie.  There, we met Billy and Carolyn for dinner and drinks before all of us went to the concert.

 

My tip to you:  if you ever have a chance to see a P!nk concert, DO IT!  I saw her twice this tour and she didn’t disappoint either time!  We were a little concerned she was going to have to postpone her concert due to the flu, but she rallied like a trooper and KICKED ASS at her Louisville show!  I thought maybe she would tone down the acrobatics, but she didn’t at all!

We weren’t ready to wind down right away after the show, so we walked over to Fourth Street Live! to check out Howl at the Moon.  Guys, this place was SO FUN!  I had seen several of these in various places I’ve visited, but I’d never been to one.  I was amazed at how talented the band was on the stage.  Each musician played every instrument as well as sang their asses off.  I loved it so much!  We danced and sang our hearts out until we could barely stand up anymore.

We called it a night around midnight and headed back to the hotel where we goofed around for a bit, snacked, and laughed even more before bidding each other good night.

The next morning, being moms, we were all up early and got on the road by 9a.  I haven’t laughed this much or this hard with a group of ladies in a long time and I’m counting the days until we can do it again!

#badmoms #protour #part-a

 

Fall Festivities

Fall is one of my favorite times of year.  The colors, the slightly cooler (but still warm) weather, the activities, the food!  When we start switching over to Halloween at work, I get all excited for the coming season.

Over the last few weeks in October, we have done a ton of fun things with Jake and our family and friends.  Here’s a look at a few toddler approved outings we’ve participated in lately:

I posted a few pictures from our hayride at Windmill Farms last week.

This outing is becoming an annual thing with Jeff’s brother and his family.  For $8.95/person, you can go on a hayride that takes you all over the farm and through “Spook Hallow” where you may or may not see a couple ghouls hanging out.  An extra $3 gets you a pumpkin from their pumpkin patch!  They run hayrides starting in the middle of September all the way through Halloween.

Another great event that we’ve been to every year for the last three years is the Monster Mash at our son’s daycare.

They bring in vendors from all over the Miami Valley, provide snacks and drinks for the families, and have rides and activities for purchase.  We didn’t stay until the end this year, but apparently they had a balloon release as well.

My son has made several great friends over the last few years at daycare and I, in turn, have befriended the moms too.  I can’t say enough great things about our daycare.  They are thoughtful, caring, and really love our children.  They go above and beyond every day and he loves going to school there.

Just yesterday, my friend Kristy and I decided we wanted to try our hand at Tom’s Corn Maze. 

She had been here before and said it was fun, so Jeff, Jake, and I met her yesterday afternoon.  For $8/person (kids under 5 are free), you get a blank map and have to find 12 mailboxes throughout the maze.  Each mailbox has a piece of the map and, when the map is filled, you get to cross Victory Bridge!  Here’s a tip…listen to the masses of people surrounding the mailboxes!

It took us about 1.5 hours to do the whole thing, which isn’t too bad for $8!  Afterwards, we watched them chuck a pumpkin…or tried to at least.  It’s kind of like watching a golf ball after you hit it.  I always lose them in the clouds!

We’ve had some fun this month and we still have Beggar’s Night yet.  Jake LOVES his Spider-man costume and I have a feeling he will continue to wear it long into the new year.  Hope your fall has been as fun and beautiful as ours has!

Playground Playtime

We are pretty lucky.  We have a playground about a mile from our house.  Actually, it’s an elementary school with a playground, but it’s open to the public when school is not open.  More than a few times, I’ve taken Jake on a walk to this playground and let him run off some steam.  He’s still a little too small for a lot of the equipment, but he has fun regardless.

This time we were lucky because Daddy came too.  He was able to put Jake in position on the slide and I was there to catch him at the bottom.  It was also nice to spend a little QT with my boys after a day at work.  Here’s a few shots from our fun at the playground:

You’d think after a fun day at the playground PLUS a picnic with his cousins, Jake would have been out by 7p.  Dude, this little guy hung until 8:30p!  Daddy and I on the other hand were beat.  Can I please have some toddler energy?  Mkthanks.

If those pictures were cute enough, here’s some videos to put you over the edge:

Want more silly videos of me and my boys?  Subscribe!

Birthday Celebrations

Tuesday was Jeff’s birthday.  Typically he doesn’t take his birthday off work since it’s so close to Memorial Day, but this year he splurged.  I took the day off as well so we could spend it together.

The morning dawned warm and bright, with gorgeous sunshine and temperatures around 75*.  We took Jake to daycare and commenced doing our chores around the house.  That included a little gardening for me (a completely new concept).

I bet you’re wondering why I have a kick board, right?  Substitute knee board for kneeling.  I know…I’m clever.  It worked great.  And btw, aren’t our rose bushes gorgeous?

I had to trim them a bit so they didn’t crowd the lilies, which resulted in a sweet little bouquet for my kitchen table!

After gardening (and a quick nap), we left for King’s Island!  The lines were SO SHORT!  Love that!

The first roller coaster we encountered was Diamondback.  We both looked at each other and decided we needed a tamer one to start with.  Diamondback has probably the steepest drop in the entire park and neither one of us had been on a coaster in at least three years.

We opted for The Beast, one of the original coasters at Kings Island.  Love that ride!  At the end of the coaster there’s a spiral and it feels like the car is going to fly off the track!

After that, I was ready to ride.  Next up was Vortex, a flip you around, go upside down, awesome coaster.  Oddly, the entire time we were riding, I felt lightheaded.  I feared it meant no more inverted coasters in my future.  I’m going to try again at some point.  Maybe I was just hungry.  😉

Next up was the Zephyr.  Here’s something you may not know about me.  I get dizzy.  Easily.  Like seriously easily.  If I spin around more than once or twice, I feel nauseated.  Not sure when that started, but it’s definitely a problem.  When I first decided to go on this ride a few years ago, I was a little hesitant.  After all, it spins.  But I used to love this ride at Opryland (remember that, Tennesseans?), so I bit the bullet and went.  Now it’s one of my favorite rides!

Speaking of my favorite ride:

That’s the Raptor at Cedar Point…the best amusement park in the country.  IMO obviously.

After all that, it was time to try a new ride.  When I try a new ride the first time, I get super nervous.  My heart starts beating harder, I yawn a lot (weird), and I get really quiet.  Jeff kept trying to talk to me and get me to laugh, but most of the time I just listened to conversations around me.  When we got into the corral for Firehawk, the lady that was sitting with us told us it was fun and not to worry about it.  OK, lady.  I’ll try to take your word for it.

The coaster, for those of you who don’t know, simulates flying.  As in, you are laying down facing the ground.

As nervous as I was, it was probably my favorite ride we went on!  I can’t wait to go again!  We would have gone twice, but we were sort of on a time crunch and didn’t want to wait in the line again.

Speaking of time crunch, we both wanted to ride on Flight of Fear, but the wait was over 45 minutes!  For a day that was not that hot (it’s an inside coaster) and a park that was not that crowded, I was shocked.  So we skipped it.  Boo.

We grabbed some ice cream at Graeter’s and then went to the top of the Eiffel Tower to get some great pics.  Here’s the Firehawk in all it’s glory.  So fun!  The other (white) coaster is the Racer…another KI original.

We had just a little bit of time left before we had to leave to pick up Jake, so we walked back over to Flight of Fear to check out the line one more time.  Still 45+ minutes, so we decided to head out.  We didn’t ride on that many rides, but we had a great time anyway.  Definitely have to go back this year!

We both missed Jake terribly and wanted to squeeze him.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to squeeze this face??

After grabbing the boy, we stopped at Dorothy Lane Market to pick up dinner supplies.  Jeff had requested burgers so we had those, salad, and fruit.  So yum!

The rest of the night was pretty calm.  A little snuggle time with the boy, a little leftover ice cream cake from Cold Stone, and little sleep.  It was a great day!  Happy birthday, sweetie!

Smashing the Burger!

One of the perks of being a blogger is the fabulous events you get invited to.  Recently, Heather (from What Does She Do All Day), her husband John, and I were able to attend an event I was uber excited about.  Anyone who knows me knows my favorite meal in the entire world is a cheeseburger.  (Yes, I know people think I’m crazy but I’m OK with that.)  Well, when I had the opportunity to attend an event at Smashburger, I squealed.  Literally.

SmashBurger, “a fast-casual restaurant designed to be every city’s favorite place for burgers”, was started by Tom Ryan in Denver Colorado.

Tom had the vision to provide a delicious burger experience that the general public could afford.  They pride themselves on using fresh, never frozen beef as well as a myriad of toppings.  They also try to add a little local flare to some of their burgers when possible.  For example, the BBQ sauce on the BBQ Bacon and Cheddar burger (my personal favorite) varies region to region.  In Tennessee, they use a Memphis style BBQ sauce.  In Texas and Oklahoma, they pull from the local resources there.  In North Carolina?  You guessed it.  Local, local, local.  Jake did lots of research into their claims.

For this event, it was the same deal.  Instead of BBQ sauce, though, they were discussing something a little more…adult.  Beer, people.  It was a burger and BEER event!  Sweet!  OK, so I’m not a huge beer drinker, but who would pass up the opportunity to sample free burgers and free booze?  Not this girl!

Smashburger has always served alcohol at their restaurants, but they’ve decided to up their game a little.  They are pairing up with local microbreweries and really delving into the flavors that compliment each other.  For Ohio, the team chose…who else…Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC)!  As a Cleveland-born lady, I was all about this.  I love supporting local companies in any way I can.

To start the event, we were brought nearly every side dish Smashburger has to offer.  My favorite (aside from the Smash Sweet Potato Fries) were the Fried Banana Peppers!  Who knew?

Tom spent a little time talking about starting the company.  Then he introduced Brew Master Luke Purcell from GLBC.  They talked about how they spent a great deal of time really trying to pick the flavors that worked the best together.  It was interesting to me to hear how they did it, especially since most beer tastes the same to me.  😛

We began the evening with the classic Smash paired with the most versatile beer, Dortmunder Gold.  Next up, the Mushroom Swiss burger along with Eliot Ness.

Then, my favorite burger, the BBQ Bacon and Cheddar with Edmund Fitzgerald.

After that, we had the Buckeye Burger and Burning River (named for when the Cuyahoga River caught on fire in the 1960s…a bit of trivia for ya).  They kind of threw us a curve ball after that with the Spicy (for real, yo) Black Bean Burger and Commodore Perry.  Adding to the non-beef options, we had the Classic Chicken sammie with the Dortmunder again.  Rounding things out, we sampled the Avocado Club chicken sammie with the Eliot Ness.

I was an equal opportunity sampler, but my heart sang when I tried the BBQ Bacon burger.  I knew it would though.  I’ve eaten at Smashburger several times, and I almost always go with this burger.  It is made up of several of my favorite items:  BBQ sauce, bacon, beef, cheddar, bacon, onion straws, and…oh…did I mention bacon?  Next time I go, I’m adding avocado to it.  PERFECTION on a bun!  Geez, my mouth is watering at 8:30am…

Perhaps the most fun of the evening, however, was when we got to go back into the kitchen and smash burgers with Tom.  Here’s a little back story about Bethany.  When I was in college, I worked at a restaurant at UK called K-Lair Grill.  We had all kinds of “diner” type food, but we sold burgers far more than anything else.  I was one of the grill cooks that worked there.  And let me tell you…I could cook and assemble burgers better than anyone.  In fact, I didn’t even have to ask where my managers wanted me when I got to work.  I was immediately put on the grill.  Yep, I was that good.  (So I’m being a little cocky.  And I’m OK with that!  lol)

Well, when Tom said we could go smash burgers, visions of college flashed through my head.  I was all over it.  My friend Katie did me the favor of filming me “in my college element”.  So much fun!

After smashing burgers, we were able to sample a couple milkshakes for dessert.  We tasted the Cookies and Cream as well as the Strawberry.  I am a huge fan of the Cookies and Cream now and it will be hard for me to resist ordering one when I’m in there!

This event was really fun and I simply can’t wait for the next one.  Thanks to Katie at Domestic Debacle for setting it up for all of us!

Disclaimer:  Though I was provided the food and beverages for free, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Appreciate ‘Cha!

We did it, you guys!  Due to your awesomeness, I reached 100 likes on my facebook page!  Thanks so much!

They like me!  They really like me!

As promised, I drew one name from a hat (OK, really I used random.org) and one lucky winner will win a delicious treat straight from me!

That winner is………drum roll please……….Jen!

Jen, please shoot me an email (onegirlstaste@hotmail.com) and let me know what your favorite (mailable) dessert is!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Soapbox Available

I love blogging.  Ever since I started way back in August of 2009, I have been cooking, baking, and exercising my way through life and telling all of YOU guys about it!  I’ve met some awesome real life friends through my blog and even more virtual ones.

I’d like to take the time to get a little input from my favorite readers.  Yes, this means you!  Do you have a topic you’re interested in?  A recipe you’d like to share or a kid’s craft you love?  Have you been on an awesome vacation and want to give others ideas on where to go and what to do?  Do you have a favorite restaurant you’re just dying to talk about?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then now’s you’re chance!  I’d like to start some sort of reader show and tell if you will.   Drop me a line and let me know what you’d like to talk about.  If I get enough participants, I could make this a regular post.  Wouldn’t that be fun?  Kinda like being back in grade school.

I really hope you’ll join.  Jake hopes so too.

Ten Months in Pictures

Time really flies, doesn’t it?  I posted back at the beginning of the month that I had forgotten to update you all on Jake’s nine month birthday.  I opted to, instead of skipping over that month, post the ninth month instead of his tenth month.  (PS…he turned ten months on 10/8.)  Then, I forgot about updating you on his tenth month!  Phew!

Instead of going over the same things over and over again, I decided to make this mainly a picture post.  When I read monthly updates, I skim the contents and focus mainly on the pictures anyhow.  Two birds…

I’m also giving you guys a heads up that I am going to try to keep up the thrice weekly blog posts, but with the holidays coming up my schedule is going to get pretty hectic.  November is typically one of our busiest months of the year (it’s the main time for people to purchase food supplies and, yes, even Christmas decor) and it goes without saying that December is busy.  I also work 6 days a week in December, so needless to say that one day off I have is pretty jam packed.  I’ll do my best, but in years past I have let my blog go by the wayside in November and December.  Just sayin’…

Without further ado, here’s my boo boo:

We had such a fun month.  Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Wes came for a visit, we went to the park and the Renaissance festival, Jake tried on Grandpa Wes’s hat and felt grass for the umpteenth time (still not a fan), and discovered he likes apples of all kinds (edible and electronic).  We tried a new treat: banana bites rolled in cereal.  He fell in love.  And we also got some new Halloween skeleton jammies.  It was a fun month!

Birthday Weekend

My birthday was last Wednesday.  I requested to have the following weekend off to celebrate with my boys.  And celebrate we did!

Jake and I started the morning off by hanging out at home while Daddy ran some errands and stopped by at work.  It was a gorgeous weekend so we had the doors and windows opened the whole time!  We waved bye to Daddy through the screen.  Daddy, don’t go!

Little man is standing all by himself (supported by various inanimate objects of course)!

Such a cutie pie!

This was one of the first weekends I’ve had off that I haven’t had somewhere to go and some place to be!  Jake and I hung out all weekend long!

We played with a big diaper box!  He looked under it,

tasted it,

but ultimately decided it was best for riding.

Then Jake helped Mommy with the laundry.

I couldn’t ask for a better helper!  After our chores were done and Daddy came home, we all took a trip to a local park.  What fun we had!  Daddy and Jake played on the swings.

And Daddy took Jake around on the playscape.  I think Jake liked being up high!

Playing is serious business.

He lightened up eventually though!

I’m thinking he didn’t know what to think!

Then it was Mommy’s turn to carry him around.  Cheese for the camera!

Baby’s first slide! Wheeeeeeeeeee!

As we were leaving, we saw the cutest little chocolate lab puppy!  Don’t get any ideas, Jake…

It was a great weekend!

Barenaked

Ladies!!  BNL!!  The Ladies!!  I don’t care what you call them, they are still amazing in concert as usual.  Sunday evening Carolyn, my sister-in-law Shannon, and I went to see them in concert at the Fraze pavilion here in Dayton.

It had been super hot all weekend (I’m talking over 100º) but miraculously started cooling down on Sunday morning.  By the time we went to the concert, I think it was about 80º or 85º.  It was actually a pretty pleasant night!

(Notice the thrilled-looking guy in the bottom right corner…)

We grabbed some cocktails and made our way to our seats.  A couple things to note:
1.  The Fraze takes only cash, so don’t forget to bring some!
2.  They have a yummy punch made with passion fruit rum, grenadine, Sierra Mist, and orange juice that is very good.  It’s actually relatively strong!
3.  Those Daily’s Frozen Pouches are super sweet and not very strong.  I suggest the punch instead.

4.  Bethany and rum do not mix.  I didn’t drink much last night but this morning I have a slight hangover headache.  #Fail!

Anyhow, back to my boyfriends.  They had three openings acts:  Cracker, Big Head Toad the Wet Sprocket Monsters (otherwise known as Big Head Todd and the Monsters but we had problems calling them the right name all night long), and Blues Traveler.  Remember Run Around?  It was a fun song from my high school days.  🙂

Not bad, but they are no Ingrid Michaelson (the opening act for the previous two BNL concerts we attended).  LOVE INGRID!

Starting Now is one of my favorite songs by Ingrid.  It helped me deal with some hard times in the past.  Actually a lot of Ingrid’s songs helped me.  That’s how I deal with things sometimes…blare music and sing at the top of my lungs.  🙂

But I digress (that was for you, Jo!).  After listening to the opening acts, partaking in adult libations, and making fun of super tan ladies people watching, our men came on.  Yay!  They started withAnother Postcard, which has never been my favorite song, but it did get the crowd up and moving.

They played a pretty decent set consisting of several chart toppers and a few lesser known songs.  They also played a new song off their next album.

One of my favorite things about BNL is Ed’s freestyling.  He always includes a song about the city he’s in.

Another favorite part of every BNL concert is when they play theBig Bang Theory theme song!  (I dropped the ball on this and started recording more than halfway through.)

Barenaked Ladies always put on a great concert and tonight was no exception.  We all had such a fun time!  I love the Ladies!