Ask Amy - Take 1

Sorry for the delay, but here are ya'lls questions, and answers! I have a few new followers, and would like to continue the "Ask Amy" posts. So any questions you may have, please leave them via comment, Twitter (@TheLacksBOAT), or email TheLacksBOAT@hotmail.com

1) Why BOAT? - BOAT is our names - Brynnleigh, Owen, Amy, & Troy - This is totally my husbands doing, and well I love it! We sign all our Christmas presents as the BOAT. I mean come on, how do you get all those names on a little present tag?

2)Where have you traveled that was your favorite and why? - That's a tough one as I love to travel.  My immediate response would be England.  I went there in January 2000 through a college class and it was a blast.  I would love to go back, but don't see it ever happening.  I think you get these crazy thoughts that other countries are so different and honestly they are not.  They may eat differently, or go about things differently, but over all, it's all the same.  Locally, my favorite place would be the beach, and it doesn't matter which one.  (I would default to Myrtle in SC).  You HAVE to relax while at the beach!

3) Where is the one place you would like to go but have never been and why? - Australia, hands down.  I'm not sure what my love for Australia is, but I have ALWAYS wanted to go there.  Why haven't I been...well that's easy...it's kind of a far ways from home and I'm always scared going to other countries (yes, I was scared of England before I went).  Now with two kids, it's a real longshot.  I would either take them with me, or will have to wait until they are grown and moved on...I'm not going that far away without my kids.  My second place would be Hawaii, because well, it's a beach and I love beaches! ; )

4) You have 2 kids, are you done, or do you want more? - There were two questions I was anticipating, this being one of them (the next one is next!).  Honestly, I don't know (sorry Troy).  I used to say I always wanted 2,4,or 6 kids, I didn't want odd numbers.  After O, I changed to 2 (I was getting older) and now after Brynnleigh, I'm just not sure.  I know Troy is done (he thought he was after O, but he's very glad we have B) and well, I'm still on the fence.  I am extremely happy with my two kids, and if that is all God wants me to have, I'd be ecstatic, but there's still something there that makes me think we are not done.  I always said that I did not want 3 kids, because I did not want a middle child, but now, I'm not so sure.  I'm just going to put it in God's hands, and if it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it wasn't supposed to.  Now granted, with all of his, I am not leaving it all up to God at this point, Brynnleigh is only 14 months old.  The "Pill" and I are good friends!  I have dreams, and there's a "Parker" in my dreams...what's weird is that sometimes "Parker" is a girl, and sometimes "Parker" is a boy. (FYI - Parker was B's name if she was a boy, if we have another, their name will be Parker, no matter what the gender...if I have any say).  On the other hand, I have two kids, who as far as I know are both healthy, and I have a boy and a girl, I'm not sure I want to press my luck.

5) Where did you get Owen & Brynnleigh's names? - Owen originally was going to be Justin, but we changed it right before we found out O was a boy.  I'm pretty sure I heard it somewhere, Troy swears he came up with it because of his favorite soccer player, Michael Owen.  Either way, we both love the name, and it fits O perfectly!  (Oh...and it's English, because we both LOVE England).  Brynnleigh's name was basically a compromise between Troy and I.  Troy wanted the name Brynn, only spelt that way.  I did not want a short name for a little girl.  I HATED having such a short name growing up that could not be shortened into a nickname.  Since I was such a tomboy, I always said I was going to name my daughter a unisex name or a longer name that can be shortened, such as Samantha, Christina, Taylor.  So Brynn was just too short for me...so we played around and were stuck between Brynnleigh and Brynnlynn (not specifically this spelling).  I loved Brynnleigh...if she wanted to have a very feminine name, Brynnleigh, if she wanted something different, she had Brynn, Bry, Leigh, etc.  We played around with the spellings, but with the Brynn, nothing else looked right. Brynnly, Brynnlee, Brynnley, Brynnli, etc.  If Brynnleigh decides she hates her name (or never learns how to spell it) then she can have it changed, it's her name to do as she pleases.  14 months later, I still love it!  Both kids, have family middle names.

6) How do you find time to include the things you have to do like family duties, etc. and still have time to blog, twitter, and Facebook? - Umm, that is a touchy subject in my family, and I am still working all that out.  Twitter is not a problem - 99% of that is done on my phone and well, I'm still learning Twitter.  Facebook - now that I have it on my phone, I'm not "on" as much as before and the blog, I try to do a few posts at a time when possible.  Typically what happens is after the kids are in bed, I get on the computer, it's my downtime.  My husband is normally watching tv while I'm on the computer, so I feel like all is well.  Unfortunately, he does not feel the same, and I understand.  So we are working on setting up "computer time" and "date/hang out time" so we are on the same page.  I also do a lot of blogging/facebook, after he has gone to bed between 10 pm and 1 am.  I also do some things during my breaks at work.  Please don't be mad at the hubby for not liking "computer time", he LOVES the blog and is probably my most avid reader.  The problem is me, I have a tendency to get on the computer, and be on it for hours at a time.  I start reading one thing, then want to look up another, and then, 3 hours later, everyone is asleep.  I have an issue with being too thorough on things, I won't look something up and be happy with the first response, I will read them all.

7) What was the best day of your life? What was the worst? - Honestly, I'm not sure...I've had a lot of both.  My best days that immediatly jump out at me are - Troy & I getting engaged (8/17/02), getting married (9/20/03), Owen being born (2/20) and Brynnleigh being born (10/4).  I also like to recall a certain December 18th with my hubby, friend, and her hubby...it was a night filled with laughter, Pretty Women scenes, and lots of snow!  I enjoy days filled with laughter!  My worst? - hmm, probably a mixture of 3 - the day I lost our first baby (February 06) and my Dad's seizures, the first was my freshman year of college while at a soccer game and the second was while at home and I saw and heard it.  Still to this day I cringe when I hear someone "moan".  Oh yeah...there's one other, the night of my high school 10 year reunion...had nothing to do with the reunion, those who were involved know...and well, lets just say, you do stupid things while drinking.

8) Why did you start blogging? - I actually started blogging back in 2007 after O was born to help family and friends stay updated with our lives.  I had issues staying up to date, and eventually let it go.  While pregnant with Brynnleigh I stumbled up some friend's blogs and really enjoyed reading and decided to try my hand at blogging again.  It is a good outlet and it allows our family to keep up to date with what's going on with us.

Okay...that's it for this Q&A...but shoot me some more questions and I'll answer them.  Have questions for the Hubby?  Send those too, just specify which are his...if not I'll assume they are for me to answer.  You can submit via commenting on this post, email at TheLacksBOAT@hotmail.com or twitter @TheLacksBoat  I'm working on setting up a facebook page now...if I get it up, you can submit questions there too!

House Keeping

Okay, first off, I apologize that the blog has been slow the past week or two. I promise to kick it up a notch in the New Year.

I am working on the "Ask Amy" post and it will be posted tomorrow. If anyone has any more questions, please ask away. You can ask via commenting on this post, emailing them to TheLacksBOAT@hotmail.com, or Twitter me @TheLacksBOAT. I'm hoping to continue this post in the future, and may even do an "Ask Troy" post (be careful folks, he's brutally honest!)

Also, I will be away from the computer from 1/6-1/15 for some much needed family time. I will have some scheduled posts but wanted to throw out some guest posts if anyone is interested. I'm going to be honest, I'm still learning all the ropes, so it will be trial and error. I will have my iphone with me, so I may throw a few pics up or, follow me on Twitter, I'm always instagraming photos.

And my one question for all you blog peeps...facebook account, should I do one for the blog? Just curious as I see a lot of people have it.

Oh yeah...stay tunned for a review/giveaway while I'm gone!!

Thanks guys...and happy Thursday!!

Wordless Wednesday - Angry Birds

Every evening I pick O up he asks if he can play angry birds on my phone.  I see a future of video games with this kid!

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Birthday Missy!

Who's Missy?  Well that would be my Mom, whom Owen and all his friends have named Missy.  Originally Owen was calling her Grammie...well when he started school, his teachers were Ms. Mary and Ms. Pat.  I think he went to call Grammie Ms. Grammie, and it just came out "Missy" and well, it stuck!


Mom at 1 year

 Today is her birthday and she's taking over Wordless and making it Wordfull!


My brother, Mom, & I

 Mom, thanks for being the best Mom and Missy!!  You have taught me a lot of things about life, and myself and are always the first one I go to for help/advise, and answers.  I really appreciate you watching my babies every day and taking them to playdates, weekday birthday parties and everything else.

Thank you for always being there for me, my friends, my husband & his family, our kids, and their friends.  I think it's cute that my friends call you Mama U., and my kid's friends call you Missy.

Somehow, you managed to make it to all of my sports events, even college, even when I NEVER played.  I'm still amazed that you and Dad drove all the way down to Atlanta to watch me sit the bench!

Thank you for showing me that relationships can last.  You and Dad have been married exactly 30 years and 2 days longer than Troy and I!

We can't wait for your birthday party tonight....O has been talking about it for days!!

We hope you have the Best Birthday Ever!!

Love,

Brynnleigh, Owen, Amy, & Troy

aka The BOAT

Don't forget to go Here to ask me anything you wanna know about me, my life, my opinion, etc.

Christmas List

Here is our wish list for the kids...Owen's was 100% created by O, and then reduced and tweeked by us. Brynnleigh's was completed created by us, with some help from O!

Owen's Wish List:


"Hot Wheels Track w/a Loop de Loop"






And well, because Troy and I are kids at heart...we added these to O's list

Owen's "Future Car"  He LOVES this movie!

Brynnleigh's Wish List:



I know I am forgetting some things...but we do have them!!  We LOVE Christmas, and Toys R Us...so buying for our kids...it soo soo much fun!!

The kids bought each other gifts too....they are AWESOME!

O's gift to B: (It sings Rihanna's "Only Girl)

B's Gift to O: (We helped a bit with this one)

Don't forget to go HERE and ask me any questions you may have!!  I've already gotten some good ones...post to come this week!



Ask away!!

Okay...so I am officially brainless today.  I've been working on our Christmas list post and I promise to have it up on Monday.  I may break it into two posts - 1 w/the kids and 1 w/the adults and misc. items.

So, while we wait, you can check out Jenni from the Blog's holiday gift guide.  Don't get your hopes up...mine will not look as pretty!! ; )

Also, I've noticed that I have a few new followers...so I'm opening up...ask me anything you want and I'll post an "answers" post next week.

Here are the rules (very simple, promise)
1. You can ask anything you want by leaving a comment on this post, or emailing me at TheLacksBOAT@hotmail.com
2. I can choose not to answer if it's too personal/offensive.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!  We hope to finish our shopping and wrap as much as possible so we can relax next week.

Wordless Wednesday - Santa

I'm pretty sure that I don't need to explain how our visit to Santa went this year...the picture says it all...

And just because...here's a close up....

I think Santa may be crying too! ; )

Merry Christmas....

Peek a boo

Brynnleigh started playing peek a boo with herself at her great grandmothers house. It was too cute so we grabbed a video and some pictures. We may have to invest in a full length mirror.

B has always loved reflections and mirrors, but I honestly thought by now it would have lost her interest, but  I guess not.



Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Card

So I went cheap again this year and took my own pictures for our Christmas cards. Not the best quality, but I'm happy with it. I do still want to do formal Christmas pictures, but this way I don't have to worry about getting them done asap and then ordering cards. Best part of it all, I got our pictures, and 100 Christmas cards for less than $28.00!

So yes...I really went from Sprinkler pics to Christmas in WW within a week...but hey, the weather does the same thing, so I'm good right? ; )

Wine Country Gift Basket Review

I recently had the opportunity to review a gift basket from Wine Country Gift Baskets I received the Bon Appetit with Chardonnay gift basket and was thoroughly impressed.

My basket!

I was shocked when I received it...it looked EXACTLY like the picture...when does that ever happen?

The basket was FULL of goodies. It contained:

Cliffside Chardonnay (750ml)

California Pantry Rosemary & Olive Oil Baked Herb Crackers (4.5oz)

Cheese Spread - Sonoma Jacks "Garlic & Herb" in Round Box (3.5oz)

Marich Chocolate Peanut Butter Maltballs (1.5oz)

Monica's White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies (3oz)

Napa Valley Honey Mustard Pretzel Nuggets (3oz)

Nonnis Panetini (2oz)

Rovelli Crema alla Nocciola Pralines (2 pc) (.85oz)

Truffettes de France French Truffles (3pc)

Cafe Louvre Belgian Waffles (.7oz)

J&M Bleu Cheese Straws (2.5oz)

Wine Stopper

I really did not want to open the basket it looked so pretty, but I just HAD to try everything! ; )  I honestly tasted/tried EVERYTHING, even if it was something I wouldn't normally eat...my detailed honest opinions are below. 

Before we get too detailed, here is my overall opinion of this basket and company. I LOVE them, and will definitely order again.  They have a huge selection to choose from and my entire experience with this company was positive and very personal (when do you get that kind of service now?).  Shipping was quick, basket was not damaged in shipping, and comes via UPS.  The only thing I recommend, make sure someone is home when you send it.  Since my basket contained wine, someone over 21 has to sign for it.  Well, my husband and I both work, so I had to switch the address which cost me $4.00.  Not a big deal to me, but if you are sending it as a gift to someone, you'd hate for them to have to pay to be able to receive it. 

Display of the product was great, and everything was sealed and tasted great (see detail for my opinion on taste).  The basket also exceeded my expectations and will be reused throughout the year.  I was concerned that the basket would be cheap and flimsy, but it wasn't.

So, on to the details:

Cliffside Chardonnay (750ml) - Just a little background on me, I am NOT a wine drinker by any means, but I am trying.  I really want to get into wine for the social aspect and the formality of it.  So I'm slowly introducing myself to wines, which is why I was so excited to try this Chardonnay.  I did enjoy it, but it is a wine wine...so I only had a partial glass, but could totally drink this during a social setting.  My father in law enjoyed this with me and he was very impressed with the wine

California Pantry Rosemary & Olive Oil Baked Herb Crackers (4.5oz) - These were very good.  They do have a strong herb taste, but are great paired with the wine.  There is a cheese spread that would be good w/these or with the Oven Baked Italian Toast.

Cheese Spread - Sonoma Jacks "Garlic & Herb" in Round Box (3.5oz) - Ya'll want honestly right?  This was the one product that I was scared of.  I am very basic when it comes to cheese, Kraft American singles, and Kraft shredded cheese and that is about it.  But I made myself try this for the sake of the review...and it really wasn't bad.  I did have to smell it before trying and it reminded me of that cheese in a spray can...but the taste was much better.  I actually had  two helpings of this.  It is a very mild cheese and I think more people will like it than not like it.  I ate it with the Oven Baked Italian Toast.

Marich Chocolate Peanut Butter Maltballs (1.5oz) - My favorite of the whole basket.  I LOVE peanut butter, specially when mixed with chocolate.  I had to hold myself to just eat one, but believe me, I will be going back to eat the rest of the box soon!


Monica's White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies (3oz) - These were very good as well.  I was shocked when I opened  the box and the cookies were little (Think Famous Amos Choc. Chip Cookies).  I'm not sure why I was expecting larger cookies but I was.  No matter what size they were, they were very very good.  They are sweet, without being too sweet and would be a great pairing with the wine as well.  Best news about them being smaller than I thought....means there were a lot more in the box for me to eat! ; )

Napa Valley Honey Mustard Pretzel Nuggets (3oz) - These were "okay" to me.  They weren't bad, but not my favorite either.  My initial thought with these was that I needed a beer, not wine.  They also made me think of a sports bar (maybe that's where the beer came from...I don't know).  I would eat these, but only after everything else.  I was shocked when I opened the big box, to pull out a little bag.  Nothing against the company, since everything nowadays is packed this way, it just shocked me.  This was the only product that was packaged this way though.  (This was the first thing I tried).

Nonnis Panetini (2oz) - This is the Oven Baked Italian Toast I mentioned earlier....these were very very good.  Probably my favorite non-sweet item in the basket.  These are perfect for entertaining as well.  Great w/a spread or topping, and just as great by themselves.  Even though they were in a box and shipped, they tasted fresh.

Rovelli Crema alla Nocciola Pralines (2 pc) (.85oz) - I wish there were more than two, but then again, if I want to maintain my figure, I'm glad there were only two!  Milk chocolate, hazelnut cream...oh soo yummy!

Truffettes de France French Truffles (3pc) - I did not think I would like these - they looked more like a dark chocolate which I do not like....but I was wrong, these were great also.  There are only 3 pieces, but they are so sweet, you only need one at a time.

Cafe Louvre Belgian Waffles (.7oz) - I think I got to try a crumb....Owen saw this, and it looked like the cookies he likes to eat, so he stole it and ate it.  My crumb was excellant  and Owen told me his piece was wonderful and asked for another : )

J&M Bleu Cheese Straws (2.5oz) - Owen and I both tried these.  O didn't really like them, but I was impressed that he tried, and well he didn't "hate" them either since he didn't spit it out.  I was not a big fan...but then again I do not like Bleu Cheese.  They looked good and I think somone who likes Bleu Cheese would enjoy these.

Wine Stopper - I LOVE this....soo soo soo cute.  I may have to start drinking wine on a regular basis just so I can use this stopper. 

I highly recommend this company and their products. Their link is above, and on the top right of my blog for a quick link up.  Just a side note - the wine is limited to which states it can be shipped to, so please check before falling in love with a basket.  (Just an FYI - they are one of very few companies that ship wine to Virginia).  This would a great gift to ship to out of town family or friends, or even ship it to the host of your holiday gathering.  They have lots of items in all price points! 

My one suggestion to the company - how about a "make your own" gift basket?  I know you would need to limit selections due to the baskets and making sure you can display and ship correctly, but you could have catagories based on product size.  I know when I was browsing your site, I would see items from one basket that I really liked, but was scared of the rest of the basket contents.

Happy Shopping!

Laundry

Here is what I'll be doing all day today. Bad part, this isn't all of it.

December....already?

I cannot believe that it is December already....I mean where has the time gone? I swear I blinked and the year was gone! Now I'm starting to get into Christmas crunchdown. This is the LEAST prepared I've been for Christmas in a long long time. Normally by this time I've gotten pretty much everyone done, a few presents wrapped and am just waiting to find stuff of those people who are impossible to buy for.

This year....at this point....I have finished shopping for 1 person....and it's a friend of Owen's, not even a family member!

I'm hoping to do a "Best Christmas Gifts" blog post within the week (to post next week), anyone have any suggestions?

Here are the "groupings" I'd like to cover:

Baby - 18 mths and younger
Kids - 2-6 yrs
Tween - 7-12 yrs
Teen - 13-18
Adult (spouse, parents/grandparents)
Co-Worker
Teachers

And any other catagories you may think of....

If anyone has anything they would like to offer as a giveaway or discount on this post, please let me know.

Also, I have a review of a GREAT item to help make Christmas shopping (specially for those on your list who are out of town) super easy. See my link to the right if you want to cheat! ; ) Great great product, super impressed.

You can leave a comment, or shoot me an email at TheLacksBOAT@hotmail.com

Happy December!

Wordless Wednesday - Sprinkler Fun

Okay...Wordless Wednesday is going back to July...but with the cold weather approaching, I thought this might help us to remember those miserably hot days! : )

We took the kids over to the neighbor's house for some good old sprinkler fun!