Drumroll Please....The 84th Oscars!

How many mindless hours in front of the TV can I stand? Even DVR can't help me get through the hours of red carpet fashion and the actual award show itself (only to cut off Meryl Streep's thank you's at the end). I used to really enjoy the SAGAs, the Grammys, the Emmys, the Oscars, and the list goes on and on. But recently, these Sunday nights of famous people are getting old.

In Oscar's defense, maybe I wasn't excited to watch because I had only seen ONE of the movies nominated, The Help. We rented Moneyball one night a couple weeks ago, but I fell asleep. This movie-going-behaviour really isn't like me. I love love love the movies, especially the popcorn. But we never go anymore. Such is the sad sad life of parents who don't want to get a sitter and don't want to spend $30 to see a movie.

The highlights for me were Ellen's JCPenny Commercials (I actually stopped DVR to watch those) and the Cirque du Soleil act!

Yellow School Bus

Alamo Heights has it's very own amusement park, Kiddie Park. It is the oldest children’s amusement park in the country, established in 1925 during the golden age of amusement parks and renovated in 2009. Forrest remembers spending fun afternoons riding the roller coaster and carousel when he was a kid. We went to a birthday party at the park last weekend and we had a blast! I was a little overprotective (we are talking 1925 people!!!) and didn't allow Davis to ride anything that lifted off the ground, but he had a blast riding the boats, the trains, the horse carriages, and the carousel. His favorite ride was the yellow school bus. It looked like a little trolley and just went round and round and round.

I went to Vegas for Safari Club

A couple weeks ago Forrest and his friends decided we needed to go to Vegas for the big gathering at Mandalay Bay for the Safari Club. Check out the link if you're not familiar with this gathering of hunters and animals of all shapes and sizes. Apparently it's a big deal. True I was in Vegas, but I didn't actually spend my Saturday walking around the convention. Instead, I spent it shopping in the Venetian and at the spa!

The first night we spent at the MGM Grand. We enjoyed happy hour and oysters at Sea Blue then headed over to Nobhill Tavern for a quail appetizer and rack of lamb. Our friends weren't arriving till the next day so we enjoyed walking around the casino and tried to go to bed early, knowing we needed some rest. I'll leave the part about losing money out.

Feeling rested, we got up Friday morning and headed to the gym. If you've stayed at the MGM Grand, you know that just walking to the gym itself is a workout. It was time for a water break before we jumped on the treadmills. Vegas is such an interesting city with all kinds of people. As we made our way through the casino at 9am, we noticed people who had obviously been up all night still dropping their quarters into the slot machines.

By that afternoon, our friends had arrived, we were checked into the Palazzo, and we were getting lucky at the craps table! I always thought maybe it was spelled "crappes" or "crapes" or something else, something more classy, but no, it's craps because if you roll a certain number (it changes depending on where you are in the game) you literally crap out. We did crap out a couple times, but overall, I walked away with about $200 that I later used at the spa!

As we went on our afternoon stroll...we ran into this guy...

Newt Gingrich

That night we ate a delicious meal at Joe's (not to be confused with Joe's Crabshack) then stood in the entrance of the Palazzo and couldn't decide what to do! We debated...do we go to sleep, do we try our luck at gambling again, or find a club. Trust me, I was leaning towards sleep, but you're only on vacation in Vegas once (although I had a hard time writing that bc I feel like I'll be there again) so we picked a club, Lavo. We danced until my feet hurt and the dance floor was so crowded we couldn't move anymore.

After little sleep that night, the boys got up and headed to Safari Club and the girls made their way to the spa for a relaxing morning of lounging in the salt grotto (this amazing artificial salt cave) and getting a massage! Our afternoon was spent shopping, well, more like window shopping.

After re-capping our trip through this blog, I'm not sure how we had the energy to do one more night in Vegas. Some of us did catch some z's during the show, so I guess that is how we rallied. Our last night in Vegas we saw La Reve at the Wynne Hotel. Awesome stunts, cheesy storyline! After that we headed to a dueling piano bar and requested a little David Alan Coe, You Never Even Called Me By My Name!

Congrats to the happy newly engaged couple!

Nutrition Action

I have little time to read. In fact, I can usually only get through a book or magazine if there is a plane ride involved. BUT I'm here today to tell you about a quick read that I get once a month and LOVE.

It's called Nutrition Action.

Why I love it: It's only 15 pages, comes once a month, and is cheap to subscribe to.

What did I learn in the latest issue: 1) Avoid BPA by cutting down on your use of canned goods. 2) Having too much iron in your blood is linked to higher risk of diabetes. 3) Juice is scamming us! Yes, juice beats soda, but the sky is no longer the limit even for nutrient-packed juices. 4) Don't believe labels like "antioxidants, fiber, and DHA." And much much more!

I'm not trying to sell you on something, obviously I'm not reaping any benefits. I just thought I would share an easy read and some nutrition insight. For me, I'm always surprised when I think I'm being healthy and then find out, I'm actually not. It's all about getting the right nutrition education. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day 2004

Just for fun, let me take you back to 2004. I was a senior at A&M, living with 3 fabulous roommates, about to head on a cruise for spring break (which is why our swimsuits are hanging on the wall!?!), we lived in greek t-shirts night and day, and my parents lived in Paris.

My mom was my sweet valentine that year, she sent cookies!!!!

Davis headed off to school this morning, super excited to hand out his Mickey Valentines to all his friends! I told him there would be a party and he screamed, "snowman cookie!" I told him there would probably be cookies, but most likely hearts, not snowmen!

Hope you're all having a wonderful day full of hugs and kisses!

When Mary Got Married

Meet Mary and Parker...

They got married January 14, 2012!

Mary was a Chi Omega with me at A&M. Whoop! Gig'em! Hoot Happy! We were also roomies way back in the day. The wedding was in Houston and was as much fun as it was breathtaking. The ceremony was touching as Mary couldn't hold back her tears during their vows and used her groom's pocket to store her tissue. We were greeted by a cheerful Mariachi band at the reception while we grabbed a cocktail and took pictures in the photo booth. As we entered the dinner and dance floor area of the reception, we were surrounded by bright beautiful colors and flowers. We danced the night away and enjoyed late night food - cookies, milk, and grilled cheese sandwiches! What a fun and memorable night! Congrats to Mary and Parker!

So Happy Now

Well, to say I'm a slacker is an understatement. Every once in a while I leave blogging to the bottom of my 'to-do' list. I promise I'm not ignoring the world, there have just been a couple other things going on -- like a trip to Vegas, a trip to the Dr. with Davis, some potty-training, a sick husband, and some work (of course). I'm finding my balance now and promise to be here at least for the next couple weeks updating you on all the super duper exciting things going on in the Thompson house!

At Target yesterday Davis didn't quite get everything he asked for. Snack? No, we are about to have dinner. Toy? No, we are buying a birthday present for a friend, you have toys at home. Drive? No, you have to be 16 to drive the car. So, on our way home from Target...

Davis: "Mommy, I'm not happy. I'm sad."

Me: "Oh no, you're not happy. What will make you happy?"

Davis: "Jingle Bells!"

Me: "Ok, let's sing! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride a one horse open sleigh..."

Davis: "Hey! I'm happy now mommy."

A couple minutes later...

Davis: "Mommy, I'm sad again. Sing Jingle Bells!"