Free, Local, Fun

It's that time of year again!  I scour the local magazines and websites for fun things to do with your family that are local and FREE!  Here is my list so far.  A lot of this stuff (like Movies by the Creek) are already in play!  If you have anything to add please list it in the comments!  Enjoy! (and forgive the formatting - I'm just copying and pasting from my excel sheet)

Event	Location	When	Website
Farmers Market	Chestnut Square	Saturdays 8-12	www.chestnutsquare.org
Native Tx Butterfly Garden	Heard	Every Day through 9/30	www.heardmuseum.org
Annual Ice Cream Crank Off	Chestnut Square	6/9, 9a-3p	www.chestnutsquare.org
Second Saturdays	Downtown McKinney	2nd Sats, 7p-10p	www.mckinneymainstreet.org
Jammin In June	Towne Lake Park	Thursdays 6/14-6/28, 7:30pm	www.mckinneytexas.org
4th of July Parade	Downtown McKinney	7/4 10am	www.mckinneytexas.org
Red, White & Boom	Craig Ranch Soccer Complex	7/4 7pm	www.mckinneytexas.org
Morning Social Runs	Lukes Locker, Watters Creek	Thursdays 6am	www.watterscreek.com
Movies By The Creek	Watters Creek, on the green	Saturdays, dusk	www.watterscreek.com
Evening Social Runs	Lukes Locker, Watters Creek	Wednesdays 630pm	www.watterscreek.com
Concerts By The Creek	Watters Creek	Last Sat 7pm	www.watterscreek.com
Kids Bowl Free (must register)	Allen Bowl	Every Day	www.allenbowl.com
Village Fountain	Fountain Court, Fairview	Daily 9a-9p for splash pad fun	www.thevillageshopping.com
Splash Pads	Various Parks, McKinney Tx		www.mckinneytexas.org

Splash Pads	Various Parks, McKinney Tx and of course celebration park in Allen	we love the one by Elliot elementary (FISD) - its so close to our house!	www.mckinneytexas.org
Summer Reading Kick Off	JJG Library (Eldorado across from Evans)	6/1 10:30-11:30	http://www3.mckinneytexas.org/library.aspx?id=2288
LOTS of library activities			http://www3.mckinneytexas.org/library.aspx?id=2288

Yoga Margarita, Deodorant and Shampoo

If you lean toward a less processed, less chemically laden lifestyle you might find the following recipes useful.  None of them are original to me and I'll give credit where credit is due.  These are just things that I use daily and that people ask me about frequently.

Hot Yoga Margarita
Recipe was given to me by Jedi Master Ben Hartsell of Sunstone Yoga but is used by endurance athletes the world over.

• 1 Liter of water
• 1 Lime - just the juice
• 1 tsp of Himalayan Sea Salt (I use salt from an ancient sea in Utah with a virtually identical mineral content which you can learn about HERE)
• You can sweeten it with honey if you like, some yogis do.  I do not.  This is great just as is.

Deodorant
This recipe came to me from my friend Amy Foreman (also of Sunstone Yoga).  She's a naturally curious mama! This is THE BOMB!  I can teach 3 classes in the hot room and my underarms will be totally odor free

• Coconut Oil
• Baking soda
• Now there's two ways to do this, rub some coconut oil onto your underarm and rub it in then use a blush brush to lightly dust baking soda over it.  I did it this way for months.
• Lately I've taken to just mixing it together and rubbing it on.  I'm guessing the ratio is 3:1 coconut oil to baking soda.  Just see how you like it.

Shampoo
This recipe came from Wellness Mama and she has other awesome recipes that are on my "To Try" list but this is one I use with some regularity.  I use it as shampoo, body wash and Mr. Man uses it as shaving cream as well.

• 1 can Coconut Milk (shaken up and mixed well before adding soap)
• Equal amount of liquid castile soap (I like Dr. Bronners Lavender, other use peppermint)
• 1/2 tsp vitamin E oil (or a few capsules)
• If you have uber dry hair you can add a TBSP of olive oil or almond oil

A Force To Be Reckoned With

The past 6 months have been some of the most painful of my life, and if you've known me for a while you know that's saying something!

I haven't written before now for several reasons.  First of all it's really difficult to find words when you're in that much emotional pain.  Most of us have experienced something that is so excruciating that there really isn't a way to put it to words.  Secondly, I think when I'm in the midst of something so cataclysmic I just need to be in it and process it internally rather than whining and wailing for all to hear (no offense to people who can bear pain publicly - I'm just not able to do that).  Most importantly though, I'm not the main subject of this pain and I didn't feel like it was okay to put it out there for this person to be judged and kicked while he was down.

This person is my eldest son who just turned 17 two days ago.  This kid.  This kid.  This kid who saved my life and has been my life ever since.  This kid that I was so terrified to fuck up and spent 16 years being thankful for and amazed by and impossibly proud of.  This kid who is an old soul and would tell me tales of the travels he would make at night in his dreams, his favorite was when "The Angels took him to You Nork City" (he was 3).  This kid who displayed a sensitivity to others from toddlerhood that most children don't even begin to develop until 7 or 8.  This kid who is so beautiful inside and out.  This kid who is so fucking brilliant he took pre-ap and ap classes and made good grades without ever cracking a book.

This kid who suddenly, last summer, found himself on a slippery slope of alcohol and drugs and petty crime.  Honestly it's not a long story - it's just like they tell you in the books - there were sudden changes to personality and behavior.  The signs were there but it had only been a couple of months and like all good mamas I chose to chalk it up to teenage moodiness.  Until he stole a car and wrecked it.  Yeah.

The police couldn't do anything because technically he had a key (it was not my car but my friends) and in hindsight I'm glad for that because he won't have that rap sheet following him around.  At the time I wanted him arrested.  He needed a serious wake up call.  He needed me to beat him severely with a wooden bat.  I've seen enough addiction in my life.  Not my kid.  He's mine.  I did the only thing I could.  I sent him to my Aunt and Uncle in L.A.

Now before you start bitching and judging, shut up and listen.  Have you ever been unable to see the forest for the trees?  Do you remember being 16 and feeling smarter than everyone else and 6 feet tall and bullet proof and at the same time completely out of control?  Like finding yourself in a situation and thinking "How the fuck did I get here?  Is this my life?"  Well I fucking remember it and I clawed my way out barely.  I'm lucky because a lot of people didn't crawl out.  I couldn't leave my son to those odds. So I removed him from the situation.

I sent him to my Uncles house and I gave him a fresh start and a clean slate.  It hasn't been an easy row to hoe.  There were certainly set backs. 

He wanted to come back for Christmas and stay.  He said all the right things and he believed them but 48 hours after touchdown in Dallas and the first time he was out of my sight and with his "friends" he came back high as a kite.  It's like a rat in a maze.  You put him back into the same paradigm and he's going to perform the same way.  It's difficult for adults to change even tiny behaviors when faced with the same stimuli - it's nearly impossible for a hormonal teenager.  He was on a flight back to L.A 24 hours later on Christmas eve.  It hurt.  Because he's MY SON.  MINE!  I want him here with me!  But I can't afford to be so selfish, not when his very life hangs in the balance.

He goes to NA meetings with my cousin, his grades are good he played JV QB (made varsity but couldn't because of UIL transfer rules) and just made Varsity Pitcher for baseball and he continues to test clean and make smart, smart choices.  I talk to him about his end game.  I keep him focused on what kind of life he wants and what his decisions today mean to that end game.

He is everything you wish your kids could be and he's not perfect.  What he knows now, is how to pick himself up, dust himself off and keep on truckin. 

Watch out for this kid  - he's a force to be reckoned with.  And I fucking love him to the moon and back and I will always let him fuck up and make mistakes and I will always empower him to be able to learn from them.

21.6 Miles

While driving to work today I came upon a great surprise.  You can now transition from the Southbound Sam Rayburn Tollway to the Dallas North Tollway.

Of course I didn't actually do that.  See, here is what happened...

First I saw a new exit sign.  Instead of saying Parkwood/Dallas North Tollway it now says Parkwood/Dallas Parkway and there is NEW exit 1/4 mile further for the Tollway.  It's just a quarter mile so I could SEE the lane was open and I could SEE cars going on to it.  But not me.  No sirree.

You see the last time I went by there that transition was a huge drop out of a birds nest.  Even though I didn't HEAR the sounds of crashing metal and death I couldn't bring myself to take the ramp without first actually seeing with my own eyes that it's other half existed.  The brief moment of wondering whether or not to be embarrassed about this kind of crazy was quickly overturned by another completely justified excuse.

You see folks, I live in Texas.  Texas is a place where the 35E and the 35W are two separate highways that run North/South.  Right?!?!  I know.  The Dallas North Tollway also a North/South thoroughfare so it's right half the time.  There was no way for me to really know if the ramp included the southbound side of the tollway.  So it was a prudent and responsible decision to exit at Parkwood.  Not a crazy one.

It turns out that the other side of the ramp DOES exist and you can choose to go north or south.  I've seen it with my own eyes.  Upon entering the Dallas North Tollway South (insert my diatribe about shooting whoever invented the Texas road system here) I ended up behind a woman who was putting her make up on in stop and go traffic while driving.  I suppose that's better than being in front of her which I might have been if I weren't crazy...er....prudent and responsible.

All in 21.6 miles. 

Faces, Lasers and Nether Regions - Most likely WAY TMI

Seriously.  If you are easily offended or don't want to read a story about the day my nether regions were lasered then you should stop reading now.  I feel the need to do this for the girls, so in deep humiliation - here we go.

It all started early this morning.  Today is the big day, I have an afternoon appointment for laser hair removal on my girlie bits.  You have to shave within 24 hours of the treatment so I'm in the shower doing my thing.  

I'm struggling to shave the nether-est of my nether regions.  I mean you can't see it and it's rather hard to get to if you don't have two hands um....facilitating the accessibility *cough cough* so I have to call to my husband for help.

He's sort of staring at me with a look on his face that I'm not sure I want to see on his face as he's staring at me.  And by me I mean ME.  With a chuckle and a snicker he helps me get the business taken care of.  So at least THATS done.

I start working and have a fantastic work day and then I head over for my appointment and I figure that will be fantastic too.  I've had laser hair removal before and it was totally fine.  I didn't even bother with buying the lidocain cream because it just isn't necessary.  Also I have a pretty high pain threshold. <---Famous Last Words

We go in, I disrobe we exchange our pleasantries and here we go.  My right leg is bent out to the sed, my left leg is straight - like a number 4.  She does a test right at the edge of the bikini line to see how my pain is and how my skin reacts.  I give a little self satisfied smirk at the $50 I saved because that SO did not hurt.

We start at the top, working right to left, going down a row each time.  I giggle a little bit because about 3 seconds AFTER each laser pulse my leg (the bent one) twitches a bit.  As she moves toward the center the twitching becomes more pronounced and becomes more like a jumping and a slight extension (I think my body was trying to kick this lady's ass!).  Still I'm managing just fine.

We start getting closer to The Bullseye.  Houston?  We have a problem.  The closer we get the more I want to punch this woman in the face!  Hard!  Now she pauses to tell me she's lowering the intensity of the laser because the further south we go the more sensitive it gets.  WHAT?!

I will tell you this if you think your little bundle of nerves is sensitive don't discount her two little friends on either side.  I yelled some things during that part.  The lady laughed softly and murmered that she'd been called worse.

Of course flipping over and doing the nether-est of nether regions was a cake walk after THAT.

$50 for numbing cream.  Pay it.

Keira Knightley Is My Girl Crush

There I said it.  But that isn't why I have her picture as wallpaper on my phone.

Leo picked up my phone today and said "Keira Knightley is the wallpaper on your phone?"

I said "Yes.  It's my *Don't Eat That Cupcake/Cookie/Brownie/Bag of Chips* motivation picture."

Leo says "Oh.  Does it work?"

I'm like "No.  Not really.  Cupcakes are delicious.  But she's pretty right?"

Fight or Flight - A Tale About The Honking Jerk

I know you think my next post should be about Disney but I haven't had time to download pictures etc so too bad.

Left the house at 7:15 to take the kids to school and run a few errands.  My last errand was a quick stop at Target.

I'm in the left turn lane waiting to turn into the parking lot and I *might* have been able to squeeze between two cars but it was too close for my comfort.  The man behind me in his white Mercedes SUV decides to honk and gesture rudely at me for not going.  This makes me nervous and I slip the clutch and stall my car.  Now I *CANT* go even though there are no cars.  He's still honking, sneering and gesturing and I'm shaking and trying to start my car. 

I turn in and he follows (obviously - he was in the left turn lane after all) and parks a few spots away from me.  I'm already in Fight or Flight mode and he comes walking towards me instead of towards the Target.  Here we go...

I start yelling before he has a chance to.  Things about what a dick he is and how my car was stalled and instead of offering to help he decides to be an asshole.  I'm pretty sure there was a "kiss my fat white ass" in there somehwere.  At some point I realize I'm in a parking lot, yelling at some 50 year old man.  Now *I* feel like an asshole so I start crying.  Great.  

Once the water works are turned on the man picks his jaw up off the floor and says "I'm sorry ma'am" and I respond "Yeah?  Well fuck you!".

I'm classy like that.

*sigh*  All before 9am....