I just don't understand...

In light of recent events that have occurred in the past two days, I just feel the need to get this off my chest.

Yesterday Major Nidal Malik Hasan of the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas decided to open fire on base. According to http://www.cnn.com/ his cousin made a statement saying that Hasan was terrified of having to deploy overseas. Today in my own backyard, a man by the name of Jason Rodriguez decided to go back to the company he had been fired from two years ago and open fire in that office building. According to http://www.cfnews13.com/ as the suspect was being taken into custody, he shouted out to reporters "they left me to rot".

I don't understand why these people think that their lives are so bad the only way to make it better is to go around killing people you work with or used to work with. What is that going to solve? Your situation surely isn't going to improve; you've just made it a million times worse. If it is that bad and you don't know what do, go ask for help, runaway and go AWOL from the military, move somewhere else and start another life. Killing these people didn't improve your situation, and you didn't really "get back" at anyone. Now you just have a whole nation scratching their heads and not really caring if you walk away alive.

Falling back....why do we do it anymore?

Everyone knows the old adage "Spring forward and fall back". This of course is for daylight savings time. I understand why our country finally decided to go forward with daylight savings time with regards to World War 1. What I am trying to understand is why do we still change our clocks either forward or backwards twice a year? There are areas of our country alone that do not change their clocks during the year, Hawaii for instance.

When I first started dating my husband years and years ago he would complain every fall about how he hated the time change and he did not like when it got darker earlier during the day. Back then I would just laugh it off, I didn't really care one way or another, I guess I was just kind of used to it. Now that I am a mother, I find that my feelings toward this have changed.

A few days ago my daughter and I were in the backyard playing in the afternoon. We finally had a milder temperature for our area of Florida and it was just a nice day to be outside. Lilly was having fun swinging and playing with her dogs and I was lying on the hammock and just soaking it all in. However, we weren't able to stay outside as long as we normally would during the summer. It was 6 p.m. and it was already starting to get dark outside. Normally during the summer there would be times we would stay outside playing sometimes until 8 p.m.! Now that we have set our clocks back an hour, we aren't able to enjoy our dinner and then go play outside afterwards.

Yesterday luckily she took her nap on time and was able to go outside and play for a little while when she woke up. But still it was only a little while, maybe half an hour. When I had to take her inside and see that dissapointed look on her face, all I could think was "This freaking sucks." I wonder how many other people think about this and wonder why we still change our clocks.

How I would love for next spring when we "spring forward" for that to be the last time we adjust our clocks...

Halloween is over, but costume season isn't...

Halloween may be over for this year, but it doesn't mean that is the only time you may need a costume. For instance, my 30th birthday is coming up in a few months and in honor of turning 30 I am having and 80's themed birthday party. All my guests are required to show up in 80's themed attire. Now some people may not require a costume per se, but others may not have the time to put together an awesome costume. So for those people--whatever their reasons may be--there is an easy solution.

Costume Express is running a special right now that is only going to last until November 9th....6 more days. They are having a sale on their clearance items--customers can get an additional 25% off. Here is what you need to do:

How to get an additional 25% off clearance:


1. Add any product marked with the red CLEARANCE icon, the orange SALE icon or the green BLOWOUT icon to your shopping cart.
2. Enter coupon code 25clear at checkout.
3. Offer expires 11/09/09 and cannot be combined with other offers.

Simple, huh? Not only is it a good time to get a costume, either for next Halloween or some other party you may have coming up, but it is also a good time to stock up on supplies for next year. There is a ton of stuff on sale so go check it out!!

Movie Review -- Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure

So I don't remember if I bought the first Tinkerbell movie for my daughter at Christmas of last year or for her birthday, but she loved it. As a result she then got a bunch of Tiny Tink toys in her Easter basket and it has just grown from there.

So after months of seeing little movie clips of the new Tinkerbell movie I went out and bought it for my daughter...she's been looking forward to seeing it. It was so cute! The premise of the movie is about Tinkerbell being given a big job, working hard on it, not wanting help, and then what happens as a result of her losing her temper. I think it is good for little kids to witness the cause and effect of losing one's temper. I know I can be short-tempered at times, but I don't want my daughter to be that way, so I try to instill the lessons of keeping your temper.

I like how this movie is not only a nice Disney movie but it teaches a valuable lesson--you lose your temper and you are going to have to deal with the results, no matter how good or bad they may be. Life is all about cause and effect and this movie about cute little fairies is a good teacher of just that.

Hope you and your children enjoy it as much as we did!

Family & Firsts

There have been several firsts for our daughter and our family this year--first trip to Disney World, first day of preschool, and even first time as a flower girl. Some of these things have had a little stress associated with them, such as the trip to Disney and Lilly being a flower girl in my brother's wedding. But there have also been firsts for our family that have been just plain fun.

My husband and I used to go bowling quite frequently years ago before we had her and have wanted to take her, but you know, life happens and other things come up. So two weeks ago we finally took Lilly bowling for the first time. We all had such a good time! We hadn't been to our local bowling alley in a few years and they have made some nice improvements. They added 8 more lanes which seems to be where they put all the families, which is fine by me, they look nicer anyway! The really cool thing is that when it was Lilly's turn to bowl, the bumper rails would automatically pop up and then go down when she was done. By the time the third game came around I was wishing they would have been up for all of us....LOL. It was so much fun for all us, and it was an extended family affair--us, Lilly, my brother & sister-in-law, and a couple of close friends.

This past weekend one of my other girlfriends wanted to hang out so we decided to have a girl's day out and take Lilly to play miniature golf. First thing we did was take Lilly to her favorite place to eat--Olive Garden. After that we hit the mini links. We got her a putter just her size and then she picked out her ball, pink of course. It was cute to watch her putt on each hole, and there were a few holes that she actually knew what she was doing and made par! All in all I was just so excited to watch her have so much fun. :-)

Black Friday Shopping

For years and years I refused to go out on Black Friday, especially after I had my daughter. Not because I don't love shopping (because believe me I do!) but because I hate dealing with the crowds. But here in the past couple of years there have just been some awesome deals available on that most infamous of shopping days that I couldn't resist.

In order to help me prepare for my Black Friday shopping day, I prepare by getting a game plan ready--this way, I spend less time dealing with the crowds. Last year I stumbled upon a couple of websites that help you prepare for Black Friday, way before the print ads come out. They are http://bfads.net/ and http://www.black-friday.net/. Both of these website are very user friendly and it's always nice to be able to get the scoop on where to go before everyone else does! If you are looking for specific items for gifts or even just because you want it on sale, going to websites such as these allow you to look for these items sooner and help you plan out where to go. This way you know what stores you need to go to first for those hot ticket items.

Last year I actually got up early early--which for me is anything before 7am. My mom and I got to Wal-Mart at 6 a.m. last year with the plan for getting specific items on sale that we figured wouldn't be flying off the shelf, but hoping that maybe, just maybe the huge 52" TV I wanted would actually still be there. Alas, it flew off the shelves before we even got there. My girlfriend had gotten there at 5 a.m. when the store opened and those TVs were already gone. I'm all about a good sale but I'm not going to camp out for a TV...lol!

So if you are looking for a little help before stepping out the door on the annual kick off day of the shopping season, check out these websites. Not only can you visit them and look over all the secrets they've uncovered, but you can also sign up for email notifications of new ads that will be coming out. Check them out....they will help you get the edge on other shoppers!

Lisa's Weekly Recipe -- Ono Banana Bread

Ever since I was a kid my mom would make banana bread, especially when we had a few bananas that were starting to get a little soft. "Ono" means delicious in Hawaiian and let me tell you...this is banana bread is awesome!

Ono Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

Sift dry ingredients together. Add shortening, eggs, and 1/2 cup bananas. Stir to combine ingredients, then beat 2 minutes on medium speed on electric mixer.

Add remaining bananas and lemon juice. Beat 2 more minutes. If desired, fold in 3/4 cup nuts. Pour into a greased & lined pan. Sprinkle remaining nuts over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Aloha and enjoy!