Diva Moments

Whew!  What a busy few days.  But oh so great to have experienced.  I have days of things to tell you.  It has been one Diva moment to the next.  So in a nut shell here it all is.

The first Diva up is Our Gentleman who is in the hospital from dehydration and not eating.  He is doing much better and should be home in a day or two.  He is already looking 100% better but he would have to if you had seen him two days ago.  And once things are up and going again he only has 5 to 8 radiation treatments left.  That is the light at the end of the tunnel.  I know we will be throwing a party for him then.

The Other Mother and I popped up to Dallas yesterday for a party at T-Hee.  That was a great way to feel like Divas ourself.  After having my glass of wine (what a way to shop) we were then going from nook to cranny looking at all the fun items.  We are planning Dear Hubby's birthday party in November.  And what we want to do, we could never find around here.  Now I have to be on the hush hush here for now because Dear Hubby may be lurking around.  I do not want to give away the fun we have planned.  But can I show you some of the really cool items we did see?

 I fell in love with the Vera Bradley collection.  This is new for me but I know y'all have seen these bright patterns.  I could decorated my whole house with the flowers and paisleys.  The Other Mother was just drooling over this one!  I know that I would be the Diva with the MOST if I had just one of these bags.

 Aren't these too cool?  I wanted to get one for College Girl.  They are bottle openers.  And doesn't every College Girl need one for the party starter?  Okay she is not big on parties but dang what fun is this?

 Halloween is just around the corner.  Why let all the lil kiddos have all the fun?  These are toilet seat clings.  And look at what may be waiting for your guest when they just have to go.  IKES!  One of these did end up with us...but that is all I am saying right now.

The Other Mother picked up this pink Melissa & Doug stampers set for Princess (Diva) Emma.  And she already had it out this morning playing before school.  These are great since the ink is washable so she can also use these as washable tattoos too!

College Girl is a fan of Johnathan Adler and they had some of his collection there.  The travel coffee mug is perfect.  Even the right Tarleton Purple color for her.  Any of this would help her feel like a Diva.  Thanks so to T-Hee for letting us browse.  And of course to Dallas B2B and Texas Holly for keying us into this event.

Now I mentioned Divas.....well I felt like one too.  First the T-Hee party then off to the Anatole Hotel in Dallas.  I just had to stop by to say a hello to Roger Barnett.  He is the CEO of Shaklee.  And at the beginning of the summer when I was invited to California it was from Shaklee.  Roger made me feel amazing.  From the spa to the wine tour to dining out, I was all Diva.  So you just have to understand that since he had made it all the way to Texas, I just had to go say hello.  After a few minutes of visiting and a hug and kiss goodbye......well the trip home was next.  All my Diva moment floating behind me.

Well this all makes me wanna share one more Diva. Ding Dong The Diva's Dead by Cat Melodia has been on my bedside table this week.  I was first drawn to it for the theater aspect and College Girl having taught me so much of the behind the scenes of .....well the scenes. The main character Deborah de Lille is an opera singer who has been doing low budget shows.  Finally she has her foot in the door for that move up with a small town company.  Now this I can relate too.  From there the fun starts.  You know how it goes when there is great competition, you just step over the one in front of you.  Well that is especially true when they start dying off.  I laughed out loud time and time again.  A winner of a murder mystery and a great comedy, something that is not often found in the same sentence lil on same book. The artists assembled Tales of Hoffmann know that opera on not the only thing on their minds. A rapid role call of who is to love who are not for the faint of heart. But the atmosphere may have become literally cutthroat. The singer who died under suspicious circumstances will be replaced by Debbie.  Then a minor player suddenly decides to leave so Debbie assumes that  role. With two small roles it seems that they become something to kill for. The cast and crew are rollicking fun while showing the dysFUNctional side of life too.  It has all been great fun of guessing who done it.  I cant wait to find out if Debbie continues in other shows aka books.  Cat may think about how Debbie would do traveling with a show doing Le Miz?

Thanks so to Tribute books for sharing in the fun with me.  I have to say, that I never knew how much I could enjoy a blog tour before teaming up with them.  You will also enjoy reading more at Cat's blog.

Good Marriages

This last summer we were so thrilled when two of our best friends were married.  It is so wonderful when you see a couple come together to create a new union.  A bond that was not there before but now seems like it will always be.  We looked at the combination of a down to earth lady and a man who dreams of things to be and knew that they could combine into a life that would be magical.  Every day he takes his beautiful dog for a walk in the northern woods and explores.  And then he shares his finds with his lady.  She then joins in with her camera to memorialize the beauty of nature that he sees.  Fantastic!

It is that way also in other ways for me.  I love what Shaklee stands for in working so hard to stay a company that helps others succeed while caring so for our earth.  (Did you know they were the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral™ certification and totally offset our C0₂ emissions, resulting in a net zero impact on the environment.)  Their products are also concentrated so you can use them for a much longer time by mixing them up yourself.  I combined the Basic H²™ Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate with my Libman Freedom Mop.  Now I have a super duo here.  An organic cleaner that uses less to work combined with a wonderful mop that I can wash the pad and reuse over and over again.  That is a marriage of clean and green that is not only good for our earth but money saving too.

There are other ways to combine a good marriage of products too.  For example every year our local Curves joins in to raise money for breast cancer research.  We have a sponsored walk.  Now that combines our ability to continue a healthy exercise with a way to help others find a way back to good health.  It is wonderful to see so many people come together to make this happen.  This time I get to add in a third company in the fold.  The Tic Tac® brand launched its 2011 Shake, Share & Care campaign in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and CancerCare®.  This is the seventh year of the Tic Tac brand’s partnership and commitment to CancerCare® where Tic Tac® will again make a $100,000 donation to the charity.  Tic Tac® has also launched the Tic Tac® Extraordinary Caregiver Contest on the Tic Tac® USA Facebook page to honor the many caregivers that have dedicated themselves to helping those affected by cancer.  They have also sent me 12 packages of the new Pink Grapefruit Tic Tac® candies to share with our own team of walkers.  It will help them keep their mouth fresh, moist and energized while walking for a cure.  What a marriage of good will all the way around. 

Speaking of good marriages, I also combine my love of Curves exercise with my fav Shaklee Cinch shakes.   Work outs require the energy.  And Cinch starts my day off.  My favorite combo so far has been mixing Vanilla Cinch with ice, apple juice and a touch of cinnamon for a refreshing breakfast smoothie.  With this Texas heat you have to have a way to stay cool and keep energized.  And I have lost 10 lbs this last month too!  You know just 10 lbs a month will get me to my -100 lbs goal in a year.

Image via Wikipedia
 So what two or more products have you ever brought together to make a wonderful mix?  And has it been something that you shared with others?  I mean we all know that Reeses brought together peanut butter and chocolate.  And we all love a good combination of Kraft with Mac & Cheese.  Right.  So when we find that right mix we stick with it.  I feel that way with many things I have been lucky enough to share.  And these I try to share with you.  By the way, this was unpaid.  I just love Shaklee and Libman.  They are my favorite two companies.  Tic Tac® did share candy with me and my walking team.  But I admit, I asked them to do it for the Curves girls....they (Tic Tac®) were a doll to do so for us. 

Related articles

• 100 LBS to Lose (theysayimnuts.blogspot.com)
• Nominate a Deserving Caregiver in Tic Tac's Extraordinary Caregiver Contest! (susanheim.blogspot.com)
• Cool & Clean (theysayimnuts.blogspot.com)

Mocha Caffe Latte Love

If I need to have this......

And I must have this too......

But am on a diet?  How?

My Shaklee Shake.

Chocolate & Caffe Latte mixed with ice and milk.

Perfect way to start the day!

Cool & Clean

Today I was able to get quite a bit of housework done.  Even though it was 104 in the house.  How?  Well a partnership actually.   My kiddie pool and Shaklee Corporation.

No they did not get me a kiddie pool.  But I did jump in and out of it all day long.  Getting soaked, cooled off and them back inside to clean for awhile.  Thankfully I did not have to 'bust a move' inside with the help from Shaklee products.  I first made up some cleaner for the counters and such.  I used the Basic H²® Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate. For all-purpose cleaning:  Add 1/4 tsp. to 16 oz. of water.  Ultraconcentrated – 16 ounces makes up to 48 gallons of super powerful cleaner when mixed with water. That is .21 cents a gallon for member cost.  For windows and mirrors:  Add 1-2 drops to 16 oz. of water.   1 bottle of Basic H2 equals the cleaning uses of 5,824 bottles of 26 oz. Windex®. That is less than .01 cent for a 16 oz bottle. Amazing!

Photo from Shaklee Corporation at http://www.shaklee.com/category.php?main_cat=homecare&sub_cat=GetCleanStarterKit&type=sub

Then I had to do the dishes including some nasty pots and pans.  Thankfully I used Scour Off™ Heavy Duty Paste to clean them up.  And oh does my arthritis joints jump for joy here.  No hard scrubbing to do.  Sure did make it an easy and quick job.  If you battle this disease then you understand how much a simple job as nasty pans can reduce you to tears.  I am so happy that my wrist are not screaming out in pain yet my pots and pans are shiny once again.

My last job was laundry.  It has piled up this week.  The heat is great for drying the clothes on the line.  In the time it takes to wash a load, the ones on the line are completely dried and almost feel like they have been ironed.  But I was out of the laundry soap that I make up.  So instead I used the Fresh Laundry Concentrate HE Compatible (Liquid).  It only takes an ounce to do a load.  That makes it only .40 cents a load.  Not bad there either.  And I loved the scent.  It was like the ocean breeze was blowing in.  I could feel the sun on my back from the open back door.  The water running in the washer.  And the scent from the Shaklee laundry soap.....made me sigh in relief.  I never thought that doing laundry would feel so nice.

Now that was quite a bit of housework to do today.  Between the trips to the pool, I had managed to get the kitchen floors pretty wet.  So I popped out my Libman Freedom Mop and did a quick job of it.  Yes, I did use the Basic H²® Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate in the mop too.  So versatile.  And I did not even slip or slide.

I am proud to have the house clean again.  And to have accomplished it in this heat.  But I know it would not have been possible without my kiddie pool and Shaklee.  I do wish to tell Shaklee thanks for providing the supplies.  They were a gift from my recent California Dreaming visit with them.  Oh and by the way....an extra bit of information.  All Shaklee products are always safe, always work and are always Green!

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Trip of a Lifetime

I have to finally try to share the wonderful trip I had this last weekend. I know I have hinted a lil and such. Well we all know that pictures speak louder than words do any day. I will try my best to show you the amazing time I had.

First I want to let you know that this would have never happened without the amazing invite from Shaklee Corporation. They were adoring host to 10 bloggers for a beautiful spa weekend. And of everything that happened the very best part was the way I was treated. Not the have to be nice to you. But the genuine respect given to me that I have only received from my closest family and friends.

So, I flew out of Dallas, Texas to San Francisco, California.  The first neat part was since another blogger and myself had early flights we were treated to a sight seeing tour of San Francisco.  

Granny M said I had to see China Town, so of course, I did.  You know we never tell her NO!  The color explosion was perfect for my out going personality.  I loved it!

Being the massive bread eater that I am, it was very dangerous when our driver dropped us off at Boudin Bakery for a quick bite to eat.  I resisted and resisted and finally had a cookie.  Yes, just a cookie.  Yeah me!

Thankfully I had not eaten.  That helped me not get queasy when we went down the crookedest street in the world.  Turn after turn after turn after.....whew!  Well after that it was on to Shaklee headquarters and lunch.  I have to tell you so much there....that I think it will be a story unto it self.  Will say three things though.

• 9 Strong Amazing Women Bloggers.
• A company that believes and follows through on commitment to the earth and all of it's creatures.
• Support staff that truly believe in helping each other.

We arrived at Solage Calistoga Spa that evening for dinner and to check in.  Oh my, we all need to move to a spa to live.  Beautiful is not the beginning of the description.  This was just the view from my private room.   Rooms that made you breath in relaxation.  Spa treatments (I had the mud bath!), wonderful meals and the most lush grounds ever.  Also I have to say there were good looking men everywhere.  Oh so easy on the eyes.  And if you paused at mud bath, dear heart, this was not a wallow around in the slop....it was a velvety smooth mud made from volcanic ash, natural spring waters and essential oils.  Better than the best lotions for your skin.  Top it off with a long soak in the tub and a musical massage.  Your body is humming contentment afterwards.

There were tons of amazing people we met.  Learned more in two days about blogging than I thought I could ever take in.  And was wined and dined til I felt like royalty.  A trip to Hall Winery was more than I ever bargained for.  Artwork all over the place.  I took tons of photos there.  Especially loved the sculpture of the two enjoying a glass of wine together.

This hall here with barrels of wine in the making leads to the tasting room deep into the wine cave.  Lined with nooks to show off some their art collection and built with ancient Austrian bricks.  I just expected a monk to come down the hall in his brown robes.

And then we tasted nectar of the gods.  Drops of love, poured into crystal and then touching our lips.  A religious experience to say the least.

Finally the grand finale.  Dinner at the Bottega restaurant ran by Chef Michael Chiarello.  You may have watched him on Top Chef Masters, the Food Network’s Easy Entertaining, Fine Living, and PBS.  Our meal consisted of some of the following.

• Insalata del Bosco Organic greens, balsamic vinaigrette, sliced pear, candied hazelnuts, Pecorino
• Organic Prosciutto "house cured," pasta fritta
• Crispy Potato Gnocchi, baby vegetables, English pea-meyer lemon fonduta, & 11 month Valley Ford Montasio
• Pan roasted halibut alla Barcaiola with creamy soft polenta & heirloom tomatoes
• Olive oil carrot torta, carrot golden raisin salad, mascarpone crema

To die for food. And you may think this is silly but the creamy soft polenta will beat the best Southern Mashed Tators anyone has ever made.  I am still smacking my lips.

An amazing once in a life time trip in my opinion.  Opportunity to have experiences that leave my head reeling once I figured out how unattainable the products were that went into the making of this experience.  Thankful beyond words.

Oh, and not to leave out, my very favorite token from the whole weekend, my Cloudscape tumbler.  Thank you Roger.  I treasure the thought behind this gift.  It is greatly appreciated.