Summer '13

I absolutely, 100%, without a doubt, stole this post idea from Erin over at Love, Fun & Football. As soon as I saw her post yesterday I knew I had to do the same thing. I'm always thinking of fun things that I want to do during the summer months here in Maine, yet somehow I never seem to get them all accomplished! Being the list person that I am, it feels good to have them all written down in front of me and I'm excited to cross them off as I go!

We are always really busy in the summer... the kids are out of school but of course I'm still working full time, we have baseball every weekend, different camps from here all the way to Pennsylvania, and of course we try to soak up the summer goodness every chance we get! Living in Maine in the summer time is pretty awesome... the things we have here are amazing and I've really tried to take advantage of our area over the last couple of summers. This summer I plan on doing the same and have come up with a list of (mostly new!) things to do!

1. Host a kids BBQ - a fun afternoon of good summer food and play for my kids and their friends

2. The Lobster Shack - the quintessential summer restaurant in Maine. The restaurant itself is literally a 'shack' where you place your order. You can sit inside if you wish, but to me the best (and only!) option is to sit outside on the picnic tables right next to the ocean as you eat your meal. You can't get a better view or atmosphere with your dinner than you get at Lobster Shack!

3. Diana's Baths - this is in New Hampshire, just a couple hours from our house. Doesn't it look absolutely beautiful? We've never been so I'm looking forward to taking the kids there this summer to explore!

4. Saltwater Grille & Lighthouses - Saltwater Grille is another local restaurant that's right on the water, only it's fancier and more high end than The Lobster Shack. It's a great atmosphere so it's a perfect lunch spot to hit up before going to explore some lighthouses in our area. We hit up these same lighthouses last year and even though they're just in the next town over, it really makes for a fun afternoon of exploring.

5. Drive-In Movie - can you believe I've never been to a drive-in movie? What if I told you there's a drive-in about 1 mile from my house? Crazy, right?! I need to fix that this summer and catch a movie.

6. Beach & Amusement Park day - Old Orchard Beach is just a couple miles from my house but we never head down there in the summer time. It's very touristy and just not something that we take advantage of. This summer we plan on taking friends and heading down to the beach and hitting up the amusement rides for a day. 

7. Boston - no specific plans here but we want to head to Boston for a day and just do a few touristy things. Ryan wants to do the duck boats but other than that we will just play it by ear.

8. Peak's Island - Peak's is such a quaint little island that's very low-key and laid back. There's not a whole lot to do except take the boat out, ride bikes, enjoy a picnic lunch and the beach, and relax. Yes, relax... that thing we don't do enough of.

9. Mount Agamenticus & Flo's Hot Dogs - this mountain is about a half hour south of us and is a beautiful hiking spot. The views from the top are spectacular so we'll definitely take that 2 mile hike. Just up the street is Flo's Hot Dogs... a small, old place that you'd likely find on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives." I've never been but will gladly visit after we've hiked the mountain!

So that's our list for summer '13! I know it will be tough to squeeze everything in on top of a normal summer schedule but I'm confident we'll get it done! What's on your must-do list for this upcoming summer?

Weigh-In Wednesday - Over It

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Hey y'all! So today will be my last day hosting the Weigh-In Wednesday link-up. While I'm still very much in the midst of my own journey, and while I still love reading about yours, my heart just isn't in the link-up anymore. The last few weeks I've had to 'work' in my little brain to find a topic, and while writing it just didn't come very naturally. As you know, I am not one of those bloggers who will fake it or who will just cash it in, so to speak, all for the sake of hits to my little blog.

With that being said, I know that we've built a great little community here, a support system that many of who have grown to depend on. I'd love for that community to continue, so even though I won't be hosting the link-up anymore I'm hoping that one of you will. If you're interested in hosting the weekly link-up, let me know, and I'll hands the reins over to you. Same group of bloggers (hopefully!), same concept, just a new hostess or two!

Leave me a comment or shoot me an email (shesabigstar {at} gmail {dot} com) and I'll take the first one or two people who are interested. I'm still posting a link-up for today and still very much plan on writing about my mission to get healthy... I just don't want to have the link-up hanging over my head each week, that's all.

UPDATE: Ok y'all, that was fast... my e-mail inbox has been flooded already with those of you wanting to take over the link-up. I have a few ladies who are going to team up and take it over and I'll pass along their info soon! I'm so thankful that this link-up has been so successful and meaningful to you that so many of you are anxious to take it over!

Vino2Go Giveaway!

I can't even tell you how excited I am to bring you this giveaway! Months and months and months ago I found Vino2Go on Pinterest but at the time they were back-ordered... I mean, clearly I'm not the only one who loves my wine! Since then The Product Farm has grown and it's not hard to see why... not only do they carry this pretty fabulous wine sippy cup tumbler, they have many other creative products as well!

Can y'all just look at these beauties. I know they're just a cup, but they're a wine sippy cup! My mind is still blown at the genius of this idea! They're made of quality plastic, so you don't have to worry about breaking a glass when you're out and about with your vino. They're BPA free, which is important to me... I don't want to worry about dangerous chemicals in my Moscato!

Going to the beach? Bring your wine! Hanging by the pool? Bring your wine! Taking a bath, cooking dinner, sitting around a bonfire with friends? Bring your wine! I think the most important thing here is to bring your wine! The Vino2Go makes sure you're not going to spill your favorite bevy in the midst of your hectic life. Trust me, my life is busy... any product that's going to make things a little more simple and easy is a friend of mine! Even when that product is a wine tumbler. Especially when that product is a wine tumbler.

If you'd like to place an order for a Vino2Go (or 5!), The Product Farm is giving my readers a discount! Use the coupon code BigStarVino through Sunday, June 23, for some special savings. You can also enter below to win a Vino2Go in the color of your choice. Good luck! And if this is this the first time you've heard of a Vino2Go? You're welcome.
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Little Bit of This & A Little Bit of That...

Happy Monday friends! Friday seems so far away, doesn't it?! Of course if I had won the $590 million Powerball jackpot it really wouldn't matter what day it is, but I didn't so it does. The winning ticket was sold in Florida so maybe Amanda's holding it in her pocket and she'll share! Or Whitney. Or any of my other Florida bloggers. It's fun to dream, isn't it?! What would you do if you won that jackpot? I can't even begin to image how you could spend that much money. I could go through $2-3 million and be set for life, but $590 million?! Jeepers.

How was your weekend? I feel like a broken record telling you about our days because 'tis the season... we play baseball and softball, that's what we do. Well, that's what they do, I watch and take lots of pictures. Emily's still in Florida so it was just me and Ryan this weekend. He won his game on Saturday...  

 

I love those pictures. And that pitcher.

Saturday night Ryan had a couple of friends spend the night and guess what they did? Yup...

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day and I loved it! I cleaned quite a bit, took a nap, watched some baseball... good stuff. We ended up going to dinner with one of Ryan's best friends and his mom (who is a good friend of mine.) We didn't plan on going out to eat but since we had to go to the restaurant to pick up Ryan's $200 Oakley's that he left there last week we decided we may as well grab dinner. That kid is dang lucky that they still had his sunglasses!

I prepped lunches and snacks for the coming week... veggies mostly, and I cooked some egg rolls to go with my lunch. I bought Wonton Soup from Trader Joe's for my lunches this week and their egg rolls are the perfect compliment to that. The meal is under 400 calories and the ingredients are all real food, no chemicals here...

I had another good mail day this weekend. A couple weeks ago I won a contest over on Brin's blog and I got this great package from Klondike Brands Potatoes...

I will definitely be putting this stuff to good use this week!

I also got these pieces of jewelry... look closely...

That heart-shaped necklace is actually two baseball bats and that bracelet is a baseball bat toggle bracelet... perfect for this baseball mom! I ordered the necklace from Dana Hoiles... she has great pieces for fashion conscious sports lovers! Once I ordered the necklace, the shipment took just a bit longer than expected because Dana is recovering from surgery so she sweetly threw in that bracelet for free! If you're a sports lover, definitely check out her shop... such gorgeous pieces!

That's all I've got for you today. Tomorrow I'll have a fun giveaway so stay tuned for that! Have a good week hookers... the long holiday weekend is in sight!

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!®: Breakfast After Dark

"What's for dinner?" How many times do us moms hear that phrase in any given week? A lot. That's how many. Chances are you rattle off the name of a menu item that you’ve already cooked a couple of times within the last few weeks. Good, standard, and maybe even delicious. But exciting? Probably not.

One response that always elicits excitement in my house is “breakfast.” Breakfast is what’s for dinner! Cue the smiles and laughter instead of frowns and groaning. Breakfast for dinner is always a hit!

For my latest breakfast-for-dinner menu idea, I turned to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® and made one of their Breakfast After Dark recipes. All of the recipes looked good but after watching the different webisodes I finally settled on the Italian Skillet Eggs. I’m so glad this is meal I chose... it was delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Spread 
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (I left these out)
• 6 ounces baby spinach leaves (about 6 cups) 
• 1-1/2 cups Ragu® Chunky Pasta Sauce 
• 6 eggs
• ¼ cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese 
• 1 Tbsp. thinly sliced fresh basil leaves (I use dried)

Directions:

• Melt I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® Spread in large skillet over medium heat and cook mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach, cook until wilted, about 1 minute. 

• Stir Pasta Sauce into skillet; heat through. Carefully break eggs into skillet, evenly spaced. Do no stir. Cover and cook over medium heat until egg whites have set and yolks reach desired doneness. 

• Sprinkle with cheese and basil. 

• Serve and enjoy! 

This was such a simple dish to make, which is absolutely perfect for our busy schedule. Knowing that I can work all day, rush to busy baseball practices, and then get home and still make my kids a healthy meal is important. A simple recipe like this hits all the key components to me: it tastes fantastic (kid-tested and approved!) and I’m feeding my kids quality ingredients. I didn’t even have to stray from my healthy eating to have such a delicious meal. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® has 70% less saturated fat than butter, no hydrogenated oils and is made from a blend of vegetable oils. Their products are also gluten free. Win-win!

Thanks to the different Breakfast After Dark menu ideas from I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!®, I'll definitely be putting breakfast on the dinner menu more often!
 
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Life Lately

I've been a terrible blogger the last couple of weeks, I know this. Life is just busy and sometimes the inspiration to write just doesn't come to me. I can't fake it people... I enjoy writing, it comes very natural to me. Except when it doesn't, like the last couple of weeks... and during those times, I just can't force it. So, what have I been up to the last couple of weeks? The norm, really...

Emily had yet another Dr.'s appointment down in Boston this week. While I'm incredibly thankful for their amazing healthcare, the weekly trips are starting to get old. Thankfully, this week she got the 'all clear' from her surgeon to resume all normal activity... back to normal life (and softball games!) for Miss Em! First things first though, the day after her appointment she left for Florida for a few days with her grandmother. This is how she spent the day yesterday...

Lucky girl!

Earlier this week Ryan had a band concert. Now let me just tell you how much my son loves band... just kidding, because he hates it! All 5th graders in our district have to take band though so he chose the trombone. This week was their end of the school year concert and he was less than thrilled about it. First things first, he had to leave baseball practice early and that doesn't go over big in our house. And to top it all off he had to dress up for the occasion. Now, my son does not dress up. Like ever. He doesn't own a single pair of jeans, let alone a pair of khakis and a tie. Wind pants, athletic shorts, t-shirts, and hoodies... that's what he lives in. Khaki, dress shirt, and tie? Notsomuch. But, $80 later he was looking pretty handsome...

After the concert we went out to dinner with a group of his friends... a great way to end the night but man oh man, we've been eating out a lot the last couple of weeks. That needs to stop!

Last night there was baseball...

It was perfect spring weather and Ryan's team won so it was a great night! Once we left the field we had stopped at a red light next to a car with a kid from the other team in it... he rolled the window down and yelled over to Ryan "nice job behind the plate tonight!"... seriously, I thought my heart might burst right there. Our town isn't a small town, but it's filled with so many wonderful families... supportive families and loving families, and I just love that at any given moment we'll run into moments like these. So sweet!

From there we headed to dinner because spending money on restaurant food that isn't very good for you always seems like a good idea at the time. Look at these faces though, the boys gotta eat...

As we walked into the restaurant, I thought to myself 'this is exactly what you're going to miss someday when he's grown.' These moments. These 8:30 dinners because of late baseball games, dirty faces and muddy cleats leaving dirt on the floor with every step... these are the nights, the memories, that will fill my heart when  I look back and wonder "where did the time go?" This is where it went, right here... nights like last night. Perfection.

Let's see... what else? Oh, I had a fantastic mail day yesterday...

I ordered that Naked 2 palette from Urban Decay as a Mother's Day gift to myself... can not wait to start using it! The next two are Thirty-One items. Amy sells their products and on her Facebook group she has sales every now and then and they are amazing! That chevron design is an iPad case and the fun circles pattern is a cooler on wheels. I have wanted that exact product for the longest time but have never bitten the bullet to spend the money. When I saw that in Amy's sale brand new and for a fraction of the cost? I scooped it up as fast as I could! The last picture up there? That's a Vino2Go and I'm incredibly excited about it... aaaand I'll have your chance to win one next week!

That's about it from me lately... this weekend will consist of more of the same: kids and baseball, two of my favorite things!