Bubble Baths

After years of wishing and hoping I finally have a great big jacuzzi tub. I've always seen those pictures of people soaking serenely in a big bubble filled tub and longed to experience that. We've always had bathtubs in our homes but they were never deep enough or long enough for me. I am pushing 5'9" so I need a larger than average tub. It's no fun to sit in a nice warm bath with your legs hanging out the other end.

Shortly after moving day I finally got an opportunity to try out my new tub. I filled it up and plopped myself in...aaaaaahhhhh. Heavenly! About 5 minutes into it I found myself kinda twiddling my thumbs and whistling. Hmmm, what now? I was a little irritated with myself, "Why can't you relax and be still Aly?" After a few more attempts I started to get a little better at this sit and be still thing. Here's some of my tips...

1. You must have a comfy bath pillow. I recommend one that is covered in terrycloth otherwise you'll here squeaky sounds everytime you move your head.

2. Bubbles! Highly debated amongst bathers. I didn't think I would need them but I threw some in on my 3rd attempt and it was kinda like a big fluffy blankie and I didn't feel so exposed. However, if you have a jacuzzi tub like I do you may want to forgoe the bubbles if you plan on using the jets. Turns out that using the jets with bubble bath is a like puting a marshmallow in the microwave. Another problem with bubbles is I tend to start "playing" with them. You know bubble beards (ho-ho-ho), scooping them up and blowing them around the room or clapping your hands together and they go flying. I may not be mature enough for bubbles yet.

3. Music. I have a "chill" playlist on my ipod specifically designed for such an occasion. It helps to drown out the sound of the jets, bubbles popping or annoying midgets (I got 4 of em and they can destroy your chill session pretty fast with all their racket).

4. Make sure the water temperature is just right. Everyone has a different preference. It's a delicate balance between tepid or too hot. If I go too hot I'll be on the verge of heat stroke 3 minutes in and will be outta there. Better to go more towards to tepid. You can always add more hot water to adjust the temp after you're in the tub.

5. Candles. There is something about a great scented candle that just makes me sigh.

6. Keep the phone nearby. I know you're thinking "You don't want to be disturbed by the phone!" but lemme tell ya, when that phone rings you immediately start thinking "Who could that be? I wonder if it's important? What if there is an emergency?" Chances are it's probably a telemarketer but at least you won't be tempted to jump outta the bath and go streaking through the house or worse lay there and "What if?" yourself into a panic attack.

So, there you go. That's how Aly relaxes. I'm getting pretty good at it now. Maybe I'll go give it a try right now.

I'm It!

I've been tagged by my younger brother so apparently I have to share 16 random things about me. I'll try not to bore anybody...

I was born just outside of Chicago, IL
I spent most of my life in California
I was a Catholic schoolgirl, knee socks and all. (Back off Britney)
I was voted biggest flirt in High School
I have a rare form of anemia known as Beta Thallassemia so, if you see me gasping for air buy me a cheeseburger.
Nat "King" Cole soothes my soul and makes me miss my Daddy
My first car was a 1995 periwinkle blue Dodge Neon
I have 5 brothers and 3 sisters
I took english horseback riding lessons when I was a kid
I got married at the tender age of 20
I lived in a converted hotel above my parents restaurant in Michigan on Lake Superior for a year
I've always wanted to be a barista
Hiking and camping renew me
I love old movies, especially musicals
I was a Medical Assistant for three years before I retired and started poppin out babies
I make the best cookies, all kinds; chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter...you name it!

That's me. Ladona, Amy, Becky, and Dene your it!

Butter

So, last night I was laying in bed and a post that my brother had on his blog popped into my mind. I stewed over it so long I thought I should touch on it.

Margarine vs Butter

Butter, mmmmm. It's is one of my most favorite substances. I've noticed that many throw that word around willy-nilly like using it to describe margarine (Aly shudders). It's borderline insulting to butter connessieurs like myself. You see I was raised in a butter house. My Mother ran a catering company, made wedding cakes and even owned a restaurant at one time and never, NEVER...did I ever encounter a TUB of margarine. Consequently I grew to believe it was the devil.

Years later I married a man from a "County Crock" house. I immediately set about banishing it from the house and changing his preferences for him. Now I'm here to spread the butter love to all of you.

Margarine is basically one molecule away from being plastic!

YOU can try this yourself, purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area, within a couple of days you will note a couple of things, no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it, (that should tell you something) it does not rot or smell differently...Because it has no nutritional value, nothing will grow on it, even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow...Why? because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your tupperware and spread that on your toast? Butter is made from milk and it has been around for thousands of years so do the right thing for your body and make the switch today.

Blog Love

Thought I'd share some blog love with y'all by featuring one of the blogs from my shout out list.

A Day in the Life

is my dear friend Anne's blog. I love her insight and her mixture of comedy and heart felt wisdom. She's passionate about her family and has a unique perspective and a very compassionate heart and she's HILARIOUS! I found out recently that she also writes bible studies. I knew I picked a good friend! She loves the Steelers even more than my hubby I think and she sports a nose ring and several tatoos, two things little conservative me would never have the guts to do but I feel like I have them vicariously through association.

I think I can officially place her in the "Very Best Friend" category because when I'm outta town she's the first person I want to talk to when I get home. She's one of the only people I feel comfortable sharing the gory details of my life with and when I'm in a bad mood she can tell immediately when I pick up the phone. Our lives have eerie similarities and she completely "gets me". When we first moved to Tennessee from Cali 7 years ago I prayed and prayed for a good friend and I'm convinced she was an answer to that prayer. Ok enough mushy stuff! Go check out her blog, you'll love it!

Destin

We're home from our annual beach trip! We had an awesome time but it is always so good to come home.

A few highlights from our trip...

The boys have been bitten by the body boarding bug! They absolutely loved catchin' some waves.

Kolby was riding a wave in on his body board when a stingray swam right in front of him...it was so AWESOME! I can't decide if that makes me a really bad Mom or a really cool Mom that I thought it was awesome.

Hands down the coolest part of our trip went as follows....

Me sitting on the beach watchin' the boys search for shells and building a sand castle with Bailee. I look over to my left and notice a "commotion" in the water about 10 feet off the shoreline. I jump up to go investigate. As I get closer it appears to be a dorsal fin sticking up out of the water! Dolphin? I alert the rest of the family, (when I say "alert" I mean frantically squealing and jumping up and down and waving my arms) Then I start to walk out towards it and stop dead in my tracks...NOT A DOLPHIN....SHARK! A 6 foot long Tiger shark is looking for dinner approximately where my kids were swimming moments earlier. Now we're chasing the thing down the beach kicking ourselves for not having our camera. The strangest part was I wasn't scared at all and neither were the kids. If it hadn't been for the jellyfish we saw earlier I probably would've tried to get closer. (scared of jellyfish but not sharks? I'm an enigma, I know) After about 3 minutes of awe the shark finally took off out to sea and we trekked back to our beach towels. Weslee is a shark enthusiast and proclaimed "This is the best day of my life!" Kolby grabs a body board and heads back out to catch some waves! We feel compelled to be somewhat responsible parents and redirect our kids to the sand. We found out from locals that it is best to stay outta the water during sunset as that is feeding time for the sharks. We celebrated the occasion by purchasing shark tooth necklaces for all the boys. Bailee opted for a pink stuffed Dolphin. We'll never forget that experience.

Keeping with tradition on the last day of our trip we headed to our favorite restaurant The Backporch for a yummy seafood dinner. We were fortunate enough to get seated on the deck overlooking the gulf and as we waited for our food we reminisced over a wonderful week and watched the sunset.