How The Military Changed How We Celebrate Christmas

How The Military Changed How We Celebrate Christmas

This is not one of those posts where I lament the challenges of being a military family or where I shake an angry fist at Uncle Sam for keeping me a bazillion miles away from my family at Christmas, no siree.  This post is all about how our military travels have opened us up to new and exciting Christmas traditions from around the world.

One of the coolest things about being part of a military family is that you get the rare opportunity to see, first hand, how other countries and cultures celebrate life through their holiday traditions. [Read more...]

Norwegian Cruise Lines: Short On Fun And Slow On Service (part 3 of 4)

Norwegian Cruise Lines: Short On Fun And Slow On Service (part 3 of 4)

Part 1: Itinerary ♦  Part 2: Service ♦  Part 3: EntertainmentPart 4: Silver Linings

When you spend a big chunk of change on a vacation, you expect it to be an amazing, stellar, knock your socks off, drag you from the ship kind of time.  We had fun on our cruise, but not the kind of fun I was hoping to have, based on our previous cruise experiences.

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Norwegian Cruise Lines: Slow Service Without A Smile (part 2 of 4)

Norwegian Cruise Lines: Slow Service Without A Smile (part 2 of 4)

Part 1: Itinerary ♦  Part 2: Service ♦  Part 3: EntertainmentPart 4: Silver Linings

Because we live in Tampa, Fl, a departure city for Carnival and Norwegian, and we’d previously cruised Carnival in 2002 and 2009, we opted to give Norwegian a try. We really enjoyed our Carnival cruises but we kept on hearing from other avid cruisers that we had to try other cruise lines because if we thought Carnival was the bees-knees, we would be blown away if we branched out. So we did.

Norwegian’s whole gig is that they’re all about “Freestyle Cruising,” you set your own agenda and cruise the way you choose.  We weren’t exactly sure what that really meant in practice, but we were more than happy to give it a shot.

Unfortunately, Norwegian has some real customer service issues that I believe are partly rooted in the whole “freestyle” approach and are partly due to poor planning and broken processes.  Despite our misgivings, we powered through, determined to have a fabulous time.  And we did have a very nice time, but we know it could’ve been A LOT better.

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Norwegian Cruise Lines Review: The Itinerary

Norwegian Cruise Lines Review: The Itinerary

Part 1: Itinerary ♦  Part 2: Service ♦  Part 3: EntertainmentPart 4: Silver Linings

As you all know, we opted to skip Thanksgiving and head out on a Western Caribbean 7-day cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines. Here’s my unadulterated review of our experience with Norwegian Cruise Lines.  I’m breaking this review into parts to  make it easy on the eyes and easy on the writer.  Part 1: Itinerary, Part 2: Customer Service, Part 3: Entertainment, Part 4: Glimmers of Excellence.

Remember, this was a fully self funded trip.  I received absolutely no perks or compensation from Norwegian…so hold on to your seats…
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Death To Superwoman

Death To Superwoman

Okay, I’m not superwoman, and I’m sure that it sounds a bit egotistical that I would presume to be “super”, granted I’m enjoying my coffee out of a cup that proclaims the drinker to be “super mum”, so perhaps I’m a little full of myself. I can own that. I think I freakin’ rock. And I think I rock because I’ve decided to pull an Edward Norton-esque move vis-a-vis Fight Club and kill my alter ego. I’m done trying/striving/failing to be superwoman. I am rejecting the do-it-all, have-it-all mentality because it is a myth and an exercise in self destruction. [Read more...]

A Thanksgiving Appetizer That’s So Good, You’ll Slap Yo’ Mama

A Thanksgiving Appetizer That’s So Good, You’ll Slap Yo’ Mama

I know I opted out of the whole Thanksgiving Dinner smorgasbord, but I know many of you are getting ready to unleash your inner Iron Chef this week.  I rarely share recipes, but heck, I’m so grateful to have so many fabulous readers, I couldn’t keep this recipe to myself.  I’m giving you my all-time favorite, most requested, slam-dunk recipe.  It’s so good you’ll wanna slap your mama.  [Read more...]

Black Friday Cometh…Is Your Budget Prepared?

Black Friday Cometh…Is Your Budget Prepared?

As the official family tightwad, Black Friday represents all that is evil and unholy and spend thrifty.  But, in true Shakespearian form, “I am fortune’s fool” because I’m married to the number one, Black-Friday shopping ninja, who laughs in the face of a midnight kick-off for rock bottom prices  Yes.  My husband, the love of my life, packs heat in the form of  5-hour Energy shots to make sure he misses nothing.

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Snacking Just Got ‘Way Better’ + Giveaway!

Snacking Just Got ‘Way Better’ + Giveaway!

As a mom and a decently healthy eater, I am constantly on the hunt for tasty and healthful snack options.  From our many exchanges on Facebook and Twitter, I know you are too!  Sometimes it’s really challenging to find a snack that hits all the trifecta of awesomeness: healthy, tasty to adults, and, most importantly, tasty to kids!  My new healthy snack fave? Way Better Snacks sprouted ingredient chips.  Oh, and you can win some by entering the giveaway at the end of the post!

Way Better Snacks goes above and beyond the awesome-snack trifecta.  Their sprouted ingredient chips are more than delicious, they’re gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, and kosher!  You can’t beat that with a stick!  Well, you could and then you’d have crumbs and you’d be so sad. [Read more...]

Would You Ever Skip Thanksgiving?

Would You Ever Skip Thanksgiving?

My Christmas tree is decked out.  The house is in full Noel mode.  It looks like we took a page out of consumer America’s book and skipped over Thanksgiving.  No turkey.  No trimmings.  No pie.  No baking.  No stuffing.  No belt loosening.  No football.  No houseful of guests.  No traveling to family.  And best of all, NO BLACK FRIDAY!  <insert sound of shoppers screaming everywhere>  Would you ever consider skipping Thanksgiving?  I am not considering it.  I’m doing it. [Read more...]

Giveaway! I’m A TimeDog Champion!


I am a Time Dog Champion, my friends!  (Don’t lie.  You know you have Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’ looping in your head right now.  You’re welcome.)  But in all seriousness, I am very excited to share my new status as a #TDChamp (via Twitter) with you.

You’re probably asking yourself, time-what?  Time? Dog?  What is that?  Is that like Time, Dawg?  Like I got time, Dawg?

Well, kind of.  It’s kind of like that.  I do have more time to do amazing things with my day because I have time, Dawg, thanks to Time Dog.  Time Dog is a daily personal virtual assistant service made to help busy women save time and money.
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Make Voting A Family Tradition

Make Voting A Family Tradition

I don’t wax patriotic often, but when it comes to voting, it just stirs something deep inside of me…like a burning fire.  I feel that it is my civic duty…my moral responsibility….my ethical obligation as an American to vote.  And even more than that, I am committed to passing that value on to my children.  They must understand that voting is both a right and great privilege. [Read more...]

Every Vote Counts #TroopVote

Every Vote Counts #TroopVote

Update for NY 11/5/2012:

Absentee Ballot Application Deadline

All absentee ballot applications must be made in person at your county board of elections by Monday, November 5th.

Extension of Absentee Ballot Receipt Deadline

The State Board of Elections has approved an extension of the deadline for absentee ballots to be received and counted from 7 days after Election Day to 13 days after Election Day. Ballots must still be postmarked no later than Monday, November 5th, however they now have until November 19th to arrive at the local Board of Elections. [Read more...]

Quality Time And Halloween Cookies

Quality Time And Halloween Cookies

It’s confession time again.  I seem to have a lot of guilt sitting on my plate, but I’m finding it cathartic to share my shortcomings with all of you.  This time it wasn’t necessarily something that I did wrong.  It’s actually something I can’t seem to remember.   I get really caught up in the momentum of the relentless to-do list that is my life.  It’s an endless mental tape of tasks, reminders, appointments, chores, personal notes….it’s like a thief hellbent on stealing every waking and, sometimes sleeping, moment from me, and most importantly, my family.  Thank God for Halloween Cookies. [Read more...]

Disney Parks Blog ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Family Game Day!

Disney Parks Blog ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Family Game Day!

What can I say? Disney Parks definitely knows how to roll out the red carpet.  The ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Family Game Day event at Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida, was an absolute BLAST!  If you’ve ever been to anything that Disney has a hand in, you know they don’t go anything but full throttle.  Not only did we get a sneak peak of Disney’s much-hyped soon to be released Wreck-it Ralph, we got an all access pass to DisneyQuest to channel our inner arcade gamer.  [Read more...]

Sometimes Being Financially Responsible Sucks

Sometimes Being Financially Responsible Sucks

I’ll be honest.  I really take pride in being smart with our money.  I am proud of the fact that I save for a rainy day, shop thrifty, invest in our retirement, and pay our bills on time.  A big part of being financially responsible involves delaying gratification.  It doesn’t mean we don’t ever indulge or give into our vices.  It does mean that we are deliberate about the way we spend and the motivation behind our spending.  But let’s get real here.  Sometimes it just down right sucks to be financially responsible. [Read more...]