Sometimes I'd like to play a musical instrument

I know that I have mentioned before that one of my daughters is very talented when it comes to things related to music. She plays two instruments and is debating taking up the violin. I’m not opposed to this because it sure beats taking up drums. (ba dum dum!) I’ve also heard her talking to a friend and she may be inclined to learn the guitar soon and if that is the case, then we’ll be looking into the Music Man Guitars because even though I can’t play a note, I do know what looks good! I am only slightly envious of her musical talent because I always did want to play the bass guitar in a rock and roll band.

Pedometers are useful little tools

Years ago I had no idea just how much I walked during the day. In my head it was a lot, and I couldn’t figure out why that was not contributing to my weight loss. Then I got a deal on buying pedometers in bulk and purchased a bunch for my daughter’s class to use as prizes at a carnival. I kept one for myself and was amazed at how much I walk during the week and what a sloth I become on the weekend. Even with grocery shopping and errand running, I’m still quite stagnant on weekends. Thankfully, I know that and have stepped up my activities a bit.

I might need to buy a coat. Again.

As often as I travel between Utah and Arizona, I think I may need to invest in a nice coat or jacket. I got rid of all of my coats when I moved to the scorching desert in 2005. I was moving to the desert for goodness sake, I would never need a coat there. Besides, I had butt warmers in the car. A coat would be more like an accessory I carried around. Then I started doing that travel thing. And one time, I was all the way to the airport, in the waiting lounge, watching other people who were traveling to Utah with me, and they were taking coats, and some were wearing closed toe shoes. And I looked down and realized I was wearing sandals! And I didn’t even have a sweater! Really poor planning on my part. So, I’m looking at a coat and I like the Patagonia brand because it looks warm, yet not bulky, and easy to travel with. If you’re interested, like me, get your patagonia coat here and if we ever run into each other, we’ll compare color!

Drag Racing is Almost Here! (and I have a discount code!)

Every year our family attends the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) races in Phoenix.  The first race this year is February 22nd through the 24th at Firebird Int'l Raceway. We are HUGE drag racing fans, with each of us having a favorite driver (personally, I hope Ashley Force gets back behind the wheel of a funny car sooner than later). While we all are fans of Force Racing, we also like just about everyone else. I’m also super excited that Larry Dixon has a car this year, because he is my favorite top fuel driver, and he didn’t have a ride last year so he sat the season out. I’m also excited that another of my favorites, who have been out of the spotlight in the past few years, Tommy Johnson, Jr. will be driving again.

This year defending their various championships are, Antron Brown for top fuel (Antron is also, for the history buffs out there, the first black man to win a top fuel championship). Jack Beckman will defend his title in funny car, Alan Johnson will defend his Pro Stock championship and Eddie Krawiec defends his pro stock motorcycle championship.

As a family, we enjoy NHRA all year long and try to go to both races in Phoenix. Sadly though, in my humble opinion, NHRA does not get near enough air time, mention or press as do those noisy cars that drive 300 mph in circles all year long. If you ask me, drag racing is more competitive, more exciting and more fun to watch than the other racing series that dominates racing news.

So stoked for the sound of an engine racing 300+ mph down the track and the feel of air push against me as the cars zoom past!  This is a great family event and kids 12 and under are free to general admission areas.  
If you're looking for $10 off tickets, use the code MOMNHRA13 at http://firebirdraceway.com/

gift giving gone funky

Speaking of holidays, we treat spring time as yet another reason to give gifts and make other people happy by doing something nice for them. One gift I really enjoy giving are Baies candle by diptyque because they smell divine and they’re not typical. They’re a little funky with the packaging and I like that. Because we’re a little funky with our gift giving - so its win-win for us. If you’re looking to do something nice for someone, I suggest candles. And they last longer than flowers.