It's Swimsuit Season and I've discovered a Great Buy!

Normally on Mondays I have some sort of meat recipe to share with you for 'Eat Meat Mondays' but tonight we're going to the end of the season T-Ball pizza party and am off the hook for dinner.  But I do have something exciting to share with you.

Warning: to the guys reading this, you may want to log off now.  I think you might be bored with this post.  But the ladies will find it very informative.

I'll give you a little background first.

Two summers ago, when Bryce was 3 1/2 years old, I decided to take both he and Paige to the gym to try out the pool.  The three of us were in the family changing room, changing into our swimsuits and as I'm tying the strap to my halter top type swim top and ready to head out the door,  Bryce says to me "MOM! What are you doing??!! You can't go out there like that!!"

But why not Bryce?

"Because you're wearing THAT!"  as he points to my top.

Bryce, this is a swimsuit I say, as I reach for the door knob.

Then Bryce becomes REALLY frantic.  He shields the door with his body.  He just can not believe that his mom is going to walk out in front of everyone with a top on that looks very similar to underwear.

Thinking I might be 'falling out',  I do a double check in the mirror to make sure everything is 'contained' and they were.  So I explain to Bryce that this is what Mommy wears to go swimming in and lots of other mommies wear swimsuits like this to go to the pool.  He reluctantly follows me out.

The only thing on my mind at this point is that I couldn't believe I was already embarrassing my own kid with what I was wearing.  He's THREE!  This thought was somewhat devastating and a little bit humorous at the same time (didn't know that was possible).

After arriving poolside, Bryce realizes that lots of other moms were wearing the same type of swimsuit as his mom and I could see that he physically relaxed.  Phew!

SO, fast forward two years later (we skipped the gym pool last year) I am again thinking of bringing the kids to the pool at the gym and decided to buy a swimsuit that covers a bit more.  I'll still wear the two piece when we go on vacation and when I have a spray tan going, but for the gym, it's going to be a one piece or a tankini. 

A few weeks ago when I was taking a shortcut through Sear's at the mall,  I noticed a section of Land's End swimsuits hanging on the racks that didn't look half bad. (I may be a mommy of two but I don't want to wear a 'mommy looking' one piece).  I didn't have time to stop.  But today I did.

I'm sure everyone dreads swimsuit shopping as much as I do, but I tried to overlook the pasty white of my skin and tried on a few of these swimsuits this morning.

And let me tell you!

They suck you in and push you up in ALL the right places! 

No kidding! 

Here's what I'll be sporting poolside at the gym (the photos are from the Land's End website..... you don't want to see my pasty white body).......


This off the shoulder number is very slimming in the mid section and very flattering.  I'll probably wear mine with a little swim skirt over it.  I think it looks a little "Sex in the Cityish" don't you?

The other one has a lot of support in the chest area, even though you can't tell in the photo..... trust me, it does.  Again, very flattering on.

I'll probably wear it with this...

And the best part, they are on sale at Sear's for 40% off right now! WooHoo!

So if you're hunting for a supportive, flattering swimsuit, you can try these on at Sear's and purchase or purchase online at Land's End (I don't think they're on sale online at Land's End).

Here's the Land's End website.

I do not receive any payment for referring customers, I just like sharing a great find when I come across one.  Happy shopping!

Happy Monday!

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Scotland or Bust FFA Fundraiser

Last night the Scotland or Bust fundraiser for the Petaluma FFA Dairy Cattle Evaluation State Championship Team was held.  This is the team that Dominic coaches and who came in 2nd place, overall on the National level.  They have been invited to compete at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland in June of this year.

This is a remarkable accomplishment for this team of four, Kelli Carstensen, Mandy Brazil, Sam Cheda and Rocco Cunningham.  An accomplishment that the entire local Ag community is so very proud of.  And this was shown last night by the 300+ attendees to this fundraiser.

You can read more of the story on how the team accomplished their goal HERE.

The evening included a pasta feed which was served continuously through the event.  This allowed for guests to filter in anytime from 4:30 - 9:00p.m.

Here's Rocco working hard at the serving table and along side him is Kelli and Mandy.

Delicious pasta and salad was served throughout the evening.

Kelli serving the rolls.

There were many silent auction items to choose from.

Hand painted saw.

An entire table displayed the four team member's accomplishments throughout their FFA career thus far.

Time to visit the ice cream sunday bar.  I had to throw these in :)

Speaking of bar, here's another type of bar for grownups.  And along side this bar, you were able to purchase...........

raffle tickets (cards) for a chance to win either a 12 gauge shotgun and/or a 270 rifle.  The rifle and shotgun were donated by Legacy Sports out of Reno, NV who happen to be hunting buddies to Dominic and my father in law.  The rifle was donated completely and the shotgun was donated at cost.  Playing cards were sold for $20 each and a deck of cards was sold for each gun.  Not bad odds!

Logan, drawing a card.

And, the winner of the shotgun is........little Sammy with her Daddy, Frank!!

I'm happy to report the fundraiser was VERY successful!  It has allowed for each of the four team members and a FFA Advisor to travel to Scotland and back!   This couldn't have been accomplished without  GREAT community support.  I'm proud to be part of a community that is always there, giving their undying support to all programs related to agriculture.  This is what it takes to keep agriculture education going strong and ongoing in our community.

Happy Sunday!

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A Swap Party & the Woo Woo recipe!

Last night I was invited to my friend, Devi's house for a combination Jewelry Swapping and Silpada party.

The object of a swapping party is each guest brings in pieces from their own jewelry collection that they no longer wear or are tired of and in turn receives monopoly money for each item. All items are placed out for viewing and then are auctioned off in a Live Auction using the monopoly money. It's a fun way to recycle, re-use things that you no longer want.  And this can be done with anything...purses, clothing, household items, etc.  

Part of hosting a fun party, is of course, great food.  YUM!

And great cocktails.  Need to liquor-up the bidders!  My friend, Debbie TOTALLY perfected the WooWoo cocktail recipe!  So good!  I have the recipe for you below.

Hostess, Devi (left) and Kellie.

A sampling of yummy, mini cupcakes.

Love these petite glasses.

Viewing of auction items.

Bishe, who is blind and always a good sport, was modeling a set of earrings for us.

And the winner of the circa 1980, pastel, heart and angel earrings goes to Devi!!

There was a bidding war on the bracelets between Debbie and myself, but I ended up with them for one million dollars.  And I love them.

And these, Kellie bought these for me (I ran out of money) for a billion dollars or so.

This was such a fun party idea.  Everyone gets pumped up and has a TON of fun.  I think a purse swap may be next on the list :)

As promised, here is the WooWoo recipe:

1 shot of vodka

1/2 shot of peach schnapps

1/2 shot of pink grapefruit juice

1/2 shot of cranberry juice

Shake with ice in a martini shaker and pour.  Enjoy!

Happy Saturday!

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I believe we have a Budding Photographer

I think we may have a young, budding photographer in our house.  His name is Bryce and he's 5 years old.  Bryce asked Santa for a Nintendo DSi for Christmas this past December and since he had been well behaved throughout the year, he received one.  Not only does the DSi play video games (which Bryce is limited to at 15 minutes a day) it also has a camera with some neat, creative functions.

I wanted to share some of my favorites with you.  Bryce tells me that all the photos he takes are for his 'Blog' but he has allowed me to publish them on my blog.  All of the following photos were taken by and created by Bryce.

"Wow, this thing takes pictures!!"

"I want a lot of these"  (ya, so do I)

A whole lot of love

Sister Paige

Playing with depth of field?

Logan's beautiful eye

Logan and Bryce

Mario is HUGE in our house

"I want to be King"

More love

"More of me to love"

"What do I look like with pink hair?"

What does Daddy look like with pink hair?

Distortion feature

Can't have too many Christmas trees!

A nature shot

I hope you enjoyed some of Bryce's creative work.  Which one is your favorite?

Happy Friday!  Cheers!

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Easy Chicken Marinara

If we're not eating beef for dinner, chicken is usually on the dinner menu.  I'm always in search different ways to prepare a chicken dish that will be loved by everyone.  I think almost anything tastes great when it's topped with cheese, so this is what I came up with last night.  

Easy Chicken Marinara

I browned two breaded chicken breasts and three breaded boneless, skinless thighs in a skillet with a tablespoon or so of olive oil.  Over medium heat, approximately 2-3 minutes per side.

After the browning is complete, top each piece of chicken with your favorite marinara sauce (I used Prego).

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Top with Mozzarella cheese and place back in the oven until the cheese melts ( just a couple of minutes).

This is probably one of my favorite chicken dishes.  The combination of the browned chicken flavor with the sweet marinara sauce and topped with melted cheese, you can't go wrong!  Try it.  I think your family will enjoy it. 

We couldn't wait to dig into this dish, I forgot to take a 'prettier' presentation photo for you and thought about it only after most of it was devoured ....sorry!

What's a favorite chicken dish of yours?  I'd love to hear!

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