Colorado Here We Come

Today is the beginning of our two week adventure in Colorado. I am so excited to see all my family and friends I have missed for the past 4 months. Wish me luck flying with 3 kids by myself. I hope I don't have any horror stories to share. I will be somewhat unavailable but will try to post as often as I can. If I don't end up being able to post much I will have a lot of catching up to do. Take care!

Hubby's Idea of Fun

and mine too! I am a girly-girl but I love being outdoors and grew up camping and playing in the mountains. This weekend was our first jeep trip on the east coast. We met up with a group at an off road park in the mountains of Pennsylvania. It was a blast. We came home happy, dirty, and tired. Here are some of the highlights:

Hubby's jeep rock crawling

Lined up and ready to go

Beautiful

B waiting for his turn through the mud pit behind him

B's in the passenger seat headed into the 2 1/2 feet deep mud

Wyn peeking out behind her hat

Hubby and FiFi

Recycling Rocks!

I have been looking for ways to help the environment, minimize our impact, and shop for more natural, healthy products.

Many years ago where we lived had curbside recycling. It was awesome and I put out my bin every week. Then we moved to a townhome complex that had no recycling. I know I should have looked for somewhere to bring my recycling but I didn't have a garage or anywhere to store it and I did not have the time. Then we moved to Aurora where all the trash pickup was private and once again recycling was not offered.

Now we are in Maryland and I was beginning to become disgusted with the amount of trash we made each week. We were filling two trash barrels plus an extra bag or two. Yuck! I didn't see anyone putting out recycling in my neighborhood but where I nanny they do so I looked into it. I live on a dead end street with only 6 houses, where no one recycles. Needless to say it took 4 calls to the county and a lot of hassle but we now have weekly recycling pickup.

What a difference recycling has made in our house! We now only put out one barrel of trash per week for a family of 5. Amazing! Our county alternates weeks between bottles and cans and paper, and cardboard. Each week we put out at least 2 big bags of bottles and cans and 1 big box of cardboard.

Recycling rocks!

The Cultural Divide - Maryland vs. Colorado - Bowling

Bowling, it is one of the great American past times, like baseball, apple pie, you know the ones. So I was shocked today to realize that here in Maryland they do not have the same type of bowling I am used to.

Before today I did not realize there are different types of bowling. So here is my lesson on the types of bowling:

Ten-pin bowling = traditional bowling. According to Wikipedia commonly referred to as "bowling" in the United States.

Ten-pin bowling (Wikipedia picture)

Duckpin bowling = some crazy variation in Baltimore, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It involves tiny 2-4 pound balls with no finger holes, you get three balls per frame, and the pins are shorter and lighter.

Tiny ball (Wikipedia picture)

And then there were the pins (Wikipedia picture)

Camera phone pictures, FiFi, see the Maryland state flag in the background?




B and the mini balls

This really threw me for a loop. Can I raise my children in Maryland where they don't even have real bowling? Are my kids going to grow up thinking this mini ball bowling is normal?

I would like to think of myself as a rather smart, college educated woman who knows about life in America and day to day things. So readers, has anyone heard of this or am I just crazy?

Then there is the kickball (Maryland) vs. softball (Colorado) debate but that is for another post...

100th Blog Post Giveaway Winner!

Drumroll please...and the winner is:

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 13 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

jennymartin116 said...
I follow ur blog!
July 8, 2009 3:53 PM

Congratulations jennymartin116! I sent you an email and you have 48 hours to reply or I will re-draw.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Reminder Lipstick Giveaway Ends Tomorrow

I am hosting a giveaway for one Mary Kay lipstick in honor of my 100th blog post. The giveaway ends July 18th at midnight. Don't forget to enter to win!

http://brennbug.blogspot.com/2009/07/100th-blog-post-giveaway.html

Making New Friends is Hard to Do

Living in the same state for 18 years of my life I made some really great friends. I have 5 girlfriends that I met in high school or before that I keep in regular contact with. Up until about 2 years ago I even lived relatively close to a lot of them. Once Max and I were engaged and my lease was up I moved in with him an hour to hour and half away from my friends. It was hard but we were all so busy so we still ended up seeing each other once or twice a month. In Aurora (where I moved two years ago), I made some friends, people at the church I worked at, parents of my children friends. We could chit chat and even enjoy a laugh or two but I did not make any long lasting, confide in friendships in Aurora. When problems came up I always went back to my girlfriends.

Today marks 4 months here in Maryland for us. While I love a lot about Maryland I miss the close friendships I had in Colorado. I miss having someone to grab coffee with or see a girly movie with, or go shopping at the mall with.

God bless you military wives and other women who have done this a lot! I know what I need to do is get more involved. Get involved with church, get involved with the kid's school, take a sewing class, join a book club. The hard part is with three kids I am so dang busy.

I am such a social and outgoing person the friendship part of my life is what seems to be missing most. We have settled into a routine here in Maryland and I think this experience overall has been very good for me and my family. This may sound whiny but it is hard to make friends! Our neighbors are close to our age, I invited them to our BBQ on 4th of July and really enjoyed talking to them. They are a couple I could see Max and I being friends with. The hard part for me, what is the next step? They grew up here. They know tons of people. They aren't looking for more friends. I guess invite them over for dinner?

Then there is my kid's school. A wealth of potential friendships there. My first problem, I am a really young mom. I am 27, about the average age for a 1st time mom. I have a 9, 8, and 6 year old. Most of the other moms at my kids school are in their 40's, maybe some in their late 30's, very few in their 20's. I am not opposed to having friends of completely different ages. Two of my really good friends and former co-workers in Colorado are 10 years older than me. Having kids is something I have in common with all of them, which can be enough.

Then there are my kids activities. I met a lot of people in Aurora this way. Here in Maryland so far B is in Cub Scouts. So far that's it. I am enjoying the simple life but soccer will start for the girls soon enough. I am trying to get to know the other Cub Scout parents better and even invited the den leader and his family over for our BBQ.

Then there is my husband's co-workers and their wives. Max works with a great, fun to be around group of people. Not sure how to tap into this more except to push my introverted husband out of his comfort zone more. We had one of his co-workers over for dinner and a couple of his co-workers came to our BBQ. All of which are very nice people, I would love to get to know more.

Then there is church. It took us a couple months but back in May we found a church that is a great fit for us (recommended by one of Max's co-workers). We are going to go to a step family group this Thursday at my suggesting and hopefully in the fall I can join one of the women's groups.

Not sure what else to do except what I am, try to get more involved, and keep pushing myself. I love people, I love talking, and I love making new friends. I guess I just have to keep doing the inviting and hopefully it will begin to be reciprocated.

Those of you that have done this before. Please fill my comment section with wonderful, womanly advice. Thanks!

Not Me! Monday

Visit MckMama over at My Charming Kids for more Not Me! Monday posts.

1) I did NOT realize that while the past two weeks my kids had "cleaned" their bathroom that I needed to "clean" it and it was disgusting. I love the fact that my kids are old enough to help with chores around the house but their idea of clean and mine are two very different things.

2) I did NOT take my kids to Chuck E Cheese's for dinner and play time and then to Chick-fil-A for ice cream on the same evening. Of course NOT! That would be overindulgence and we loved every minute of it.

3) I did NOT spend 3 1/2 hours in Barnes and Noble with my kids last week. Whose kids would enjoy looking at books that long (mine)!

4) I did NOT finish two James Patterson novels this week. I do NOT have time to read so that would be impossible.

5) I do NOT have dishes and laundry to do. Of course not! I am always caught up on my household chores.

6) I did NOT spend hours watching "A Baby Story" and browsing through Baby Center this week. That would be ridiculous since we are not having another baby for at least 2 or 3 more years and hubby would be OK if I decided I did not want a baby. Is this the baby itch that some women talk about? I have had a mild case of it for some time but now that Nate and I are married and getting settled it has gone into overdrive. Hopefully those twin baby girls I am going to be nannying for in September will be able to put my baby itch on the back burner.

I can't wait to hear what you did NOT do this week!

A Thousand Words Thursday

Check out Jen's blog, Cheaper Than Therapy for more ATWT posts.

An old B&O railroad tunnel in Patapsco State Park

The Vacation Countdown Has Begun

In just under 3 weeks the three kids and I will be headed to sunny Colorado for a fabulous and fun-filled two week vacation. Our accommodations will include the guest bedroom and finished basement of my sister's house including unlimited access to her pool and access to her Honda Civic to drive. If that doesn't sound like paradise, I don't know what does (OK Maui is way more fabulous but that is for another post).

Hubby is staying back in Maryland working and he is already concerned. He doesn't know how he will survive without me for 2 weeks. Maybe when I come back he will appreciate me more. My concerns about flying with all three children alone have been swept under the rug for his more important concerns but I figure I will survive. They have plenty of booze on planes these days and if all else fails just sneak the booze into the kids drinks (just kidding of course).

Hubby has requested 14 outfits washed, ironed, and laid out in advance. While I do the laundry around the house this is the biggest laugh of them all. I can't iron for the life of me. I blame it on my mom. She never ironed, I never learned how to iron, so even during my professional years the dress clothes thrown in the dryer for an extra tumble was about as much de-wrinkling as I could manage. I do all the laundry now but hubby still irons (or doesn't iron) all his own clothes. As embarrassing as it is for this domestic goddess to say, hubby irons better than me hands down. Even when I interviewed for jobs here in Maryland I had him iron my suit. Due to this I am not concerned. I know he knows how to work the washer and dryer. He somehow managed before he met me. I am therefore taking this off my lists of concerns.

Hubby also is very concerned about what he will eat when I am gone. Since I do ALL the shopping and most of the cooking I find this to be a more valid concern. He may, GASP!, have to enter a store while I am gone. Unless he eats all frozen foods I doubt he can go over 2 weeks without shopping, if so, more power to him. The shopping aside, he can cook some meals even better than me. I know cooking for 1 is no fun but his request of 14 days of meals pre-cooked and frozen is a little out of control. One, I have never cooked in advance and frozen it. I know people have and if you have any suggestions, please comment. There is plenty of fast food and takeout around here. I think he may survive. And if all else fails our neighbors next door said to send him over, she will feed him and send him back. She is due with her first baby around the time we are leaving so I suspect she won't really be up to cooking much. I am willing to help hubby some with this preparation so if you have gone through this before and have any suggestions, please comment.

I also need some guest posters while I am gone. If you are interested please email me comichelle51 at hotmail dot com and we can set it up. I will be gone for two weeks and hope to be online 2-3 times per week but if I could get 2 or 3 guest posters that would tide the blog over so it does not get dull or boring.

That's all for now, I will go back to my new favorite adult beverage Smirnoff Ice Mango, and my plan of skipping the gym tonight. I know, I am so naughty!

*Giveaway has ended* 100th Blog Post Giveaway

Can you believe I am already on my 100th blog post? I can't! To celebrate I am hosting a great giveaway here on my blog but first here are some of my favorite posts:



Creating Memories



Carrot Cake Recipe



Super Mashers with Chicken and Green Chili Hash



A Thousand Words Thursday - Walk With Me



I'll Love You Forever I'll Like You For Always...



How I Love Twilight Let Me Count The Ways


If The World Was a Playground


Strawberry Basil Pork Chops


All You Care to Eat Dessert and Coffee



The Giveaway





You are entering to win one MK Signature Lipstick from my inventory. I will email the winner a list of what I have in stock as well as a short color description. You can choose from the description or look at the exact shade on my website. I currently have 5 different lipstick shades in stock from a variety of color families so there should be something everyone would love!


First Entry

Visit my Mary Kay website (I am an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay): www.marykay.com/michelle.brown go to the What's New tab, under Best Sellers and let me know what product you would love to try. Please leave a comment with your email address and the product name. This must be done before any other entries. Don't worry I won't spam you I just need your email to notify you if you are the winner.


Additional Entries

1. Purchase something from my Mary Kay website and I will give you 5 extra entries. Please leave a separate comment.
2. Follow my blog. Current followers also get another entry. Please leave a separate comment.
3. Blog about my giveaway and link to my blog. Please leave a separate comment.
4. Tweet about this giveaway with a link to my blog on Twitter (brennbug), post a status update or bulletin board posting about this giveaway with a link to my blog on Myspace (http://www.myspace.com.brennbug/) , or post on Facebook about this giveaway and link to my blog (find me on Facebook via my email comichelle [at] hotmail [dot] com) and leave a separate comment.

You can obtain up to 10 separate entries!


Fine Print
1. The giveaway ends at midnight EST on Saturday, July 18, 2009.
2. Winner will be drawn using random.org
3. I will email the winner who will have 48 hours to contact me to claim their prize. If the first winner does not contact me within 48 hours I will draw another winner.
4. If your comment does not follow the instructions to enter it will be deleted
5. I will only ship to the U.S.


Good luck!