School will be out in this area in 2 weeks. I’m planning to go home to Utah for a few weeks in the summer and will most likely be driving. My problem…last time I drove my van to Utah, we broke down in Laramie, Wyoming and had to rent a car to drive the rest of the way. Such a headache! That trip ended with us trading in that van and buying a new one. Now, I want to drive it again, but I have no interest in driving my van. I’m planning to rent a car for the trip, but a three week car rental for a trip across the country really adds up. It’s still cheaper than flying the 5 of us out and renting a car for a few weeks also…so I’m stumped!

I’ve never looked into a car rental from Advantage.com, but if you look at their Specials and Discounts page, they are currently offering cars for $20.00! That could be the whole trip for less than $500! That would be unbeatable, and it would save the wear and tear on my car for the ride as well.

I’m going to have to read the fine print to really make sure this is possible, but at the moment, this is my plan! I’ll let you know how it goes!

This is one of the best shows on TV. First off, you get Gordon Ramsay…that’s going to make good TV in and of itself. But when you throw in his ego versus the ego of the restaurant owner he’s there to help–it’s a train wreck that you just can’t help but watch.

Let’s face it, this man knows his stuff! I’m married to a Chef, and honestly, he knows just as much as this guy…about everything having to do with the food industry. My Chef is amazing to watch as well, but the one difference…he doesn’t yell…EVER! So there’s a nice contrast!

There is a DVD out of just Kitchen Nightmare episodes. I’ve Tivo’d every episode, so I don’t really need it, but honestly, I love this guy!

Do you remember last November when the Chef and I headed to Las Vegas for Postie-con?? We went in order to be among the first to get to try the new SocialSpark network. Mind you it bought me zero time in getting early, as I got it with everyone else…but no worries…the trip was a wonderful experience for the Chef and I, but I digress!

Social Spark is now open to the public and going strong. I found my Sister’s Blogger Profile online at Social Spark and that was fun to see! It really was a cool site to navigate. I didn’t know how to find an individual profile on its own, but I just typed in a few words into the search function and not only did her profile pop up, but her blog as well! That’s nice because I only know people in the network by their “sign ons” and they aren’t always their real first name, so that cut down a lot of the hassel!

I haven’t taken an opportunity on the new Social Spark network, but I hope I’ll be able to really sit down and figure it all out in the coming days and just get my feet wet! Social Spark is a great way to get paid to blog about the things you are interested in, just like I did. This post just happens to be sponsored by Social Spark!

I need some ideas to do with the kids on Mother’s Day! The Chef will be working all day and the other family members will be at a family dinner. So it’s just the five of us and I want to do something fun. It is “my” day after all! I was thinking about driving to Galena, but then the gas cost alone cut that choice. But maybe downtown Chicago would be a fun destination, but just what to do!

I do get a bit overwhelmed with four kids on my own, so it can’t be too much movement or I will be lost! Maybe just church and a fabulous breakfast…made and cleaned up by me! Yep, it’s great to be Mom!!

I’ve been looking online for some good work out shoes. I’m not big on tennis shoes–I think they make my feet look huge and chunky–so I steer mostly to sandals in the summer and dress boots in the winter—neither of which work great when it comes to walking on the treadmill or standing in one spot in my kitchen decorating my cakes! I found some really cute shoes at infinityshoes.com, these tsubo shoes are not only cute, but look a little streamlined–to maybe cutback in that ‘chunky’ look my feet get!

These cute tennis shoes are available with the pink and grey as well as the grey and white, and at a very reasonable price!

What’s great about Infinity Shoes is the fact that you can find just about any style you are looking for. From seychelles shoes to minnetonka boots. They even carry Dr. Martens and Birkenstock which are just cool shoes too! Even better, with purchases over $60.00 you get free shipping which is the very best thing to find when shopping online! It’s even cheaper than paying for the gas to get to the mall.

With all of the talk of Mother’s Day recently, I’ve forgotten to even mention the hugely popular American holiday of Cinquo De Mayo! Well, it’s big in the restaurant industry anyway! This weekend the Chef’s restaurant is offering a whole menu of Mexican fare. Homemade tamales are about the tastiest thing in my mind, but there is honestly an entire menu available. Who knew, really good Mexican food from a barbecue joint!!

May is the best month of the year for me! Truly…it’s Mother’s Day, my birthday and our anniversary! That spells big presents for Moi!!

The hard part is the fact that my mom lives 1500 miles away. I used to just send gift cards and homemade pictures from the kids, but last year I found a really pretty bouquet of flowers for her. I was excited because the picture online was really pretty, and I chose my two favorite flowers, Iris and Tulips. Not knowing what her favorite was, I was going for the “gift from my heart” approach. I was really excited to learn that these are her two favorite flowers as well! I used 1800flowers.com last year because they offered a mothers day gift delivery, but mostly because I had heard their commercial on the radio and found the best prices. I will stay with them this year as well for the simple fact that my mom not only received her flowers on time, and in one piece…but they bloomed for over 2 weeks after Mother’s Day. I can’t get the Tulips in my yard to bloom for two weeks straight! I was going to try to find something fun this year, like multi-colored wildflowers (which are beautiful) but once I saw the picture of the Iris and Tulip bouquet, I’m sold every time!

Since the Chef is at work making every other mother in the Chicagoland area’s Mother’s Day special…he has been known to order me flowers as well. I have hinted in the past about the Iris/Tulip route…and he’s never quite gotten the hint. This year I think I will print out the photo and the product code, and tape it to his steering wheel! That should do the trick!

Saturday night I attended a “Tastefully Simple” party with some family members. I left the boys home with the Chef, and took my 5 year old daughter with me. It was a fun party, I ordered some dip and some Orange Cream stuff. On the way home, I asked her where she would like to go for dinner. She of course chose “Dad’s work” even though dad wouldn’t be there. We love going to dinner there, we are royalty! All of the servers and hostesses stop by for a hello and a quick chat–the kitchen managers even come out. It’s cool!

So we are sitting there talking to the Restaurant Manager and I noticed the table card advertising their Mother’s Day Brunch. We’ve been to a few of the brunches at the restaurant, but with 4 kids and a packed house, we’ve started celebrating the holiday after the Chef gets home. This year will be no different! But what was interesting was the fact that the restaurant has done zero outside advertising, and they are nearly sold out on reservations! It’s just amazing!

When you come across a good deal, the very best thing to do is to share it! I hate it when you hear about a great sale after the fact! Today I had to sit down and order new checks for our new checking account. I have to say, the bank charges a BUNDLE for the simplest of checks. Then I remembered that I purchased our last set of checks from VistaPrint.com. You may notice their little button in my sidebar. They are a GEM! I’ve ordered business cards and sticky notes from them, completely customized for my cake business. The first 250 were free–and that included the awesome design that fit my business to a “T”! I didn’t just stop at the free business cards because they also offer free shipping for orders over $50.00!

So today I ordered cute customized checks as well as matching address labels. You really can’t beat their quality and their prices. I’ve looked around, and I keep coming back! I would also like to add that you can purchase from them with peace of mind. My first order of checks got lost in the mail. Hey…it happens! I called to see what I needed to do to get them replaced and was amazed to have them send me a duplicate order with express delivery free! My original order came a week or two later–nearly shredded by it’s post office ordeal! I called to let them know that I had received them and to see if they wanted them back-or for me to pay for the second order (since the first one came) and they didn’t! In fact, they apologized for the delay that was not even their fault! Honestly, I wouldn’t order from anywhere else! I’m sold on VistaPrint.com!

We had the opportunity last weekend to attend a Greek Easter party at the General Manager of the restaurants house. It was a chilly day, which is the best for me, but the kids had a ball. There was a lamb roasting on a spit, and I have to announce…I don’t like lamb! It was my first attempt at eating it. It tasted like dark turkey meat, which is usually my favorite, but there was this bizarre after taste that I didn’t care for! The Chef called it “gamey” to me, it just tasted dirty! There was a ton of Greek food, which was a nice treat. I brought a Pina Colada cake and Jake made a dump cake. There was a fire, and baseball, and a pinata–life was good!