Spring Break 2011

We have a BUSY BUSY week ahead of us and I'm already tired. 

Monday it was raining so we stayed in the house but I cleaned so no relaxing there- oh right it's not my spring break. 

Tuesday was fun filled full day at Lawrence Hall of Science http://lawrencehallofscience.org/

This was a big cement whale they could climb on outside

Floating Globe that showed all kinds of cool weather stuff

The view from LHS.  Little foggy but still beautiful.

The kids had a blast there were so many thing for the kids to do.  After 3 hrs at LHS we went and got pizza then headed to a park to play for 2 hrs.  It was a LONG FUN DAY!

Today we are going to OAKLAND ZOO with some friends. 

Tomorrow is Sahara's 7th Bday and she is hasn't let us forget it either.  For 2 weeks its been a countdown.  And this week all we have heard is "This is my bday week so deal with it"  OH MY!

So tomorrow the plan is movie, pizza, books, ice cream and then party at my friends house (her hubby has the same bday) and then a sleepover.

Friday I'm hoping CHILL DAY!  But with these two kids not sure if that's going to happen buy hey its there Spring Break.  What about your kids Spring Break?



Market Monday~ Mom Etsy Pages

I have a couple friends who have Etsy pages and I want to share their pages with my readers today! 

Mara's Maples: http://www.etsy.com/shop/marasmaples

Maple Curry Cashews these are my FAVORITE item to buy! I don't share with anyone either :)

Chewy Vanilla Granola with Spiced Pecans...  YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY...this might be my favorite too!

Mara's Maples where all the snacks are made with all natural ingredients, Real Maple Syrup, have no added oils or fats, and are completely vegan!  If your interested please visit her Mara's Maples Etsy Page or become a fan on her Facebook Page.  You will love her snacks!

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Mrs. Maintenance's Frames & More: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mrsmaintenance



This art frame is titled "Autism Awareness." This is an 7.5"x9" photo frame, matted with a handmade art mat for a 5x7 photo. This frame has a theme of autism awareness, with a red, yellow, blue, and teal puzzle pieces, and a red heart on a linen background with subtle hints of silver, and framed in silver. This frame is a tabletop frame. I start with frames purchased at thrift stores, and give them a new coat of paint and a decorative touch to give them a brand new life as Rees-Cycled Art by Anna Rees.

25% of the purchase price of this frame will be donated to autismspeaks.org.


Please visit her Etsy Page plus 15% off anything in her shop using code POETRY.

Becoming a Server/Customer Service Consultant

Its been a whole week since I quit my job and I'm still floating on cloud nine! 

UPDATE: An owner of a cafe I go to weekly had a meeting with me on Wednesday and presented a short term project for me do for his cafe.  Several of my customers at the cafe I used to work at go into this one too so he has heard what an AWESOME waitress I am.  Well of course if you been doing this for as long as I have than you tend to be an expert. 
Anyways back on track.... we had this meeting and he wants to PAY (yes money not coffee- which I offered when he asked what I wanted in pay, lol) me to go in to the his cafe 4x- a morning, afternoon, evening, and brunch shift.  I would stay for a couple hours and observe what can be done better, what they are doing great at, and policies or procedures I think he needs to implement for the cafe to run smoother.  Wow, it took me back for a bit because he wants to pay me for my knowledge of something I do very well.  I wrote up a proposal and he accepted and no I didn't ask for a lifetime of mocha's, I need groceries so I did ask for a dollar amount. 

I did a morning shift yesterday and it went very well.  I did observe a lot and actually enjoyed doing it.  Tomorrow, I go in for a brunch shift.  Next week I will hit a evening and lunch shift.  Then I will write up an report, present it to the cafe owner, we will discuss it then I will present it to the staff at their staff meeting in May. 

I might be onto something for the future...Consultant to Cafe's!  I'll google and see what the correct title is here soon.  But YEAH me for landing a short term paid gig in less than a week of quiting....Go PAM! 

Side note:  Ran into another cafe owner today that wants to revamp her cafe and she wants me to come in on May 2nd to TALK....hmmmm lets see I might be on to something.  But I think she is more into hiring me as running the cafe on weekends.  I don't want to go back working weekends but family might because I've been putting them to work.  They used to play video games/tv all weekend but not these past 2 weekends but the house looks awesome :) but they are a lil pissy with me.

5 Silly Things About Me

Some might ask why only 5...well I don't want to look too SILLY, right!  Not sure why this post idea popped in my head but I'm going to ride with it! 

1.  The best part of going to sleep at night is...flipping my pillow over and feeling the coolness of the pillowcase.

2.  I only eat veggies raw...hate cooked veggies.  (Ok take that back I'll eat corn and green beans- they don't taste good raw)

3. Coffee is my choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I can drink coffee ALL DAY (probably not a good thing) and still fall asleep at 10pm.  Sometimes I throw in some food!

4. I'm 42 and LOVE PINK...oh wait you knew that!  I would so decorate my whole house in pink/black but Hubby says no!  Fine whatever- I'm only allowed (love how I phrased that) pink items on my side of the bedroom.  (who has "his side and her side" we do!!)  Someday I might even take a pic to show you the difference because you can really see how opposite we are.

5. Still thinks she can shake her booty like she is in her 20's!  I was a big clubber from 25-30 (yes my party days) I dance in my house when no one is around. I'm happy no one can see in...and if they could I'm sure I would hear them laughing their ass off!  My kids roll their eyes at me when a song comes on when I'm cooking and I bust out my moves.  My son has asked me not to dance EVER in public....wow a lil harsh dude!  I know I did this with my mom and her singing.

SECRET MILLIONAIRE- I love this Show

First, I'm a big Reality TV fan and probably watch too many of them.   I DVR most of them and watch while my kids/hubby are asleep at night- my guilty pleasure I guess.  Now when shows affect someones life it really tugs at my heart strings and yes I CRY and CRY!

This last Sunday I watched this episode http://abc.go.com/shows/secret-millionaire/episode-detail/ali-brown-venice-calif/749323 and cried my heart out!

If I was able to give back to my community in a big way I would love to open a cafe for the homeless just like the volunteers do at http://www.stjosephctr.org/bread_roses.html  they offer a sit down/take order cafe for the homeless.  I was so impressed because usually its like a cafeteria setting but this allows everyone feel good.  It was so beautiful to watch!  All the charities that were presented were awesome and I LOVE the fact that people are giving to people in need.  I hope this show sparks people who are able to help (in any way) to get out there and volunteer their time and help support their communities! I know it has in me. 

Feel good show!! 

Wacky Wednesday- Finger Lickin Good

OMG when I saw this last night my mouth was open and my eyes where a bit crazy and I think what came out of my mouth was EWWWW.  It was gross and funny but then it was just plain EWWW who does that- oh right Pam its a commercial, duh! 

Twitter Tuesday- Twitter Parties

Twitter Parties: Tuesday, April 12

#TravelTuesdays Chat, 5:30am and 5:30 p.m. ET. Description: "Join this weekly, international Twitter chat to connect with travel-minded tweeps from across the globe! Twice each Tuesday, to accommodate for attendees in different time zones." #TToT

#ZipListLunch Twitter Chat, 1:00 p.m. ET.

Twitter Kitchen Talk, 2:00 p.m. ET. Description: "Join this new weekly Twitter chat hosted by @fbkitchen. Fun conversation & often giveaways too!" #FBKitchen

#NUTS Twitter Chat, 3:30 p.m. ET. Description: "Join Twitter's 'Not-So-Usual Therapy Session with the MidlifeRoadtrip.tv crew. Hosted by @RickGriffin, @McMedia, and @Writerchick47 with different guests and lively topics each week!" #NUTS

Earthquate Preparedness Chat, 4:00 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PST). Description: "Learn how to protect yourself during an earthquake during this one hour Twitter chat presented by the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region & @CaliforniaWatch." #quakeready

#HomeSpaChat, 8:00 p.m. ET. Description: "Join host @ArtoftheSpa for a weekly chat to discuss how to create the spa environment at home! This week's topic: Spring Decorating." #HomeSpaChat

Multigrain Cheerios/Biggest Loser Twitter Party, 8:00 p.m. ET. Description: "Join MultiGrain Cheerios® cereal and NBC's The Biggest Loser® to chat about how you can be your own Biggest Loser." #MGCheerios

Girls' Night Out / Frito Lay Twitter Party, 9:00 - 11:00 p.m. ET. Description: "Join the #GNO panel of experts as they team with @FritoLay to discuss food flavors." #GNO #FritoLay

#Holistic Moms Network Twitter Party, 10:00 p.m. ET. Description: "Join host @HolisticMomsNet for a weekly Twitter party. This week's topic: TBA." #holisticmoms

If you want to see what other parties are happening please go to http://www.tweeparties.com/.  I get a email once a week letting me know about all the parties that I might be interested in. LOVE TWITTER PARTIES!

Market Monday- Custom Art Work

Some of you know that my husband is an airbrush artist and now that I quit my job my main goal now is MARKETING Mr. Airbrush Hands (aka my hubby).

My hubby does a lot of T-shirt airbrushing but any textile that will hold paint, including jeans, denim jackets, leather apparel, pillow cases, and hoodies are always fun to do, well he says that! For Christmas one year we gave pillow cases to all the kids- guess what they loved them!  Here are some examples:

This is one of my favorite pics he has done (besides the portraits of my babies):

His specialty is PORTRAITS:





If you would like to check out more of his work please visit his website: http://mrairbrushhands.com/

Also can see more older work on PhotoBucket.

He does clothing, banners (birthday, graduation, sport, other events), or whatever you want to be painted.  We do take outside of California orders- shipping will be included in price.  If you want to get  a CUSTOM AIRBRUSHED item please let us know.  All Pinkmama's readers will get a 20% off- make sure when you order you let us know! 

Loving my Magic Bullet Deluxe

Oh we have been enjoying smoothies, icees, margaritas, and iced coffees almost everyday.  We bought this wonderful invention at Costco couple weeks ago and I've been loving it ever since.
I also use it everyday to grind my coffee.  I swear the coffee tastes better too.
I can't wait to try more recipes like salsa, pesto, egg salad, soups, oh the list can go on and on!
Magic Bullet Deluxe Rocks! 

Spin Art

My kids go through toys like they grow on trees.  This toy has got hours and hours (we have had this one for almost 3 yrs ) of playtime.  Phew finally a toy that has earned  its value and more.