Who is the Genius Now?

Yesterday morning, Ryan came into my room at the unholy hour of 6:15 A.M. and asked for my ipad.  He could have asked for anything at that hour and I would have given it to him in just to get him out of my grill.  About an hour later, he came back in and told me, "Mom, the ipad is dead."

A couple months ago, my little boys ruined the area on my ipad that you plug the charger into.  (I know I just ended with a preposition..get over it!)  I took the thing into the genius bar at the Apple store and a worker jimmy rigged it so it worked again.  At the time, he told me he couldn't really fix it and it was just a matter of time before the thing gives up the ghost.  He basically told me to take the ipad home and enjoy my last days with it until it dies..they could do nothing more for it.

So when Ryan told me the ipad had died yesterday, I thought the time had come to really say goodbye.  By the way, the thing is less than a year old.  We are hard on electronics.  But just in case, I dug my charger out of the drawer and charged the ipad all day.  Still no pulse.  So I made an appointment with the geniuses again and took it in tonight.  And can I just say, the weirdest people ever work at the Apple store.  It is a motley crew in there.  I have never seen anyone who remotely resembles these people working there:

But I digress.  I showed the worker my charger, and he informed me that I was using an iphone charger and that it doesn't have enough juice for the ipad.  He sold me another ipad charger and I was on my way.  I came home and guess what I found in the drawer...an identical charger to the one I just bought. 

No one is ever going to accuse me of being a genius.

March Mint Madness

Every March, every mint thing on the planet is being peddled in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  I love mint so I eat all of those items all month. And naturally, everyone who knows me, brings me mint treats on my birthday, which I inhale and wash down with a mint shake.  Then I have a sleeve of girl scout cookies for dessert. I can't figure out why I keep packing on the pounds...

My favorite mint items in no particular order:

Girl Scout Thin Mints (duh!)

McDonald's shamrock shake (I made a date drive me to three different McD's looking for this on my birthday.  It was sold out everywhere.  Weird...I haven't heard from him since....)

Mrs. Cavanaugh's Mindy Mint truffles/egg with my name on it (can be purchased at Harmon's which is dangerously convenient.)

Mint Brownies (at Kneaders, Food for Thought, home made...I'm not picky.)

Utah mint truffle bar (I eat these like a candy bar)

Junior Mints (in a pinch)

Golden Spoon mint frozen yogurt.

If I were smart, I would be giving up mint for Lent each year (the six weeks before Easter)...then I would look smokin' in my Easter dress. But I'm not smart..I'm hungry. Bring me more mint!

I Turned 35

How is that for an exciting title? When you're a mom, and it's a Sunday, birthdays are just another day. That's why I believe in celebrating all week..heck, all month! I have always loved having a March birthday. It feels like the promise of Spring is in the air. Here is what I have done to celebrate:

I went to lunch with some girlfriends on Saturday to Food for Thought. I have known Mandee for several years but I just met the rest of these girls over the last few months. It is really fun to make new friends as an adult! They are the most stylish girls ever..and I need help in that dept!



Ashley gave me a gift card to my favorite store White House Black Market and I had to have this skirt. Have you seen it on their commercial? I wore the skirt Sunday to church. My bday is the day after St. Patrick's Day so I usually wear green on my day!



My neighborhood girlfriends took me to dinner at Zupas tonight. Apparently I am the only one who thinks it is Spring...yes it is freezing.



My mom made me my favorite dinner at her house. This picture is sooo my life:



My boys helping me blow out the candles (because Sammie was sulking because she pushed Ryan off a bar stool and I had to give her a beat-down.)



My mom gave me two adorable swim suits from Hapari:





and these shoes:



And a knife set, and workout tights.

A friend sent me fun gifts in the mail:



I bought myself two pairs of fun earrings at Rodworks of all places:




I got many more birthday wishes and gifts from friends as well. All in all in was a good birthday..and it keeps on giving. I am getting a hot stone massage on Saturday!



Aaaaah!

Finally, last but not least, a good friend made me a Top Twenty loves and hates about dating after hearing my dating stories...check it out here:

Brooke's Birthday Top 20 -

Corner Bakery Cafe Giveaway Winner!!

The winner is Lori who said "Oooooh! I really hope I win this one! I crave the chicken harvest salad! So excited that they are opening a restaurant in Draper!"

Lori, I have your contact information and I will get you your tickets to the VIP preview lunch!

For the rest of you, go to the grand opening on April 2nd and be one of the first 100 customers in the door at 7:00 A.M. to win free soda or coffee for a year! Also, check back on my blog that day because I will do a one day giveaway (meaning you have to enter that day and I will pick a winner at midnight that same day) for the catering package worth $120.00! Congrats Lori!

Corner Bakery Cafe Giveaway!

I promised a very fun giveaway to celebrate Spring and it's time to deliver! One of my favorite places to eat is Corner Bakery Cafe. They have the ultimate girl food..salads, paninis, soup and delicious desserts...but it is girl food that men love as well. If you don't believe me..go into the Corner Bakery Cafe up on Foothill by the zoo at lunchtime...the place is packed!



The great news for us is that we are getting a brand new Corner Bakery Cafe in Draper at 264 East 12300 South, next to Smith’s. Hallelujah! It is a stone's throw from my house and you better believe I will be eating the Chicken Pomodori Panini at least once a week for the rest of my life. They do an amazing breakfast there as well and I can't wait to try the Anaheim Scrambler. Delish.

My good friend's dad owns the Corner Bakery Cafes in Salt Lake City and he has graciously agreed to do an awesome giveaway for my blog. One lucky reader (probably needs to be local unless you want to fly in for this and you probably do!) will win a VIP preview lunch for six people (SIX!) at the brand new location in Draper from 11-2 on March 31st.



The store officially opens to the public on April 2nd. Just as a side note, the first 100 people in the door at 7:00 am on April 2nd get free coffee or soda for a year (a year people!) and a free coffee mug and t-shirt to commemorate the occasion! Check back here that day as well because I am going to give away a catering package valued at $120.00...this is where I wish I could win my own giveaways!!

So, let's get down to business. Simply leave a comment (with your email address) and you are entered in the giveaway. If you have eaten at the Corner Bakery Cafe before, tell us your favorite item. If you want an additional entry, link to my blog post on Facebook or mention the new Corner Bakery opening in Draper on Facebook and then come back here and you can leave that as an additional comment for an extra entry. Simple right? I will pick a winner using random.org on Tuesday, March 20th. Good luck!

Dear Winter,

I'm leaving you. I've been seeing someone else and his name is Spring. I just returned from a trip to Southern California (post coming) and I can't go back to you. You are too cold, too dark, you have too much baggage (coats and boots!) I need a change! I'm committed to Spring now.

I am buying spring clothes in bright colors:



I got my nails painted in a hot pink shellac:



I've washed my mini van (this is not nothing people)

and I've busted out my flats:



It was 60 degrees today and I went to church with bare legs. My birthday is coming up and you know I don't want you around for that. So take a hike! We're through!

p.s. Check back this week for a very fun giveaway I'm doing to celebrate Spring!

The Parts of my Life You will not see on Pinterest

My life is still in Triage Mode. When you live in Triage Mode, nothing is pretty. But we are all still alive and that is saying something.

Here is what we have been doing lately:

This is the cake I made for Luke's Blue and Gold Banquet. I know that in posting this, I am not helping my reputation for making ugly cakes.



In my defense, I decided to make a triple layer chocolate cake and I ran out of time. I had to frost it when it wasn't quite cool and I ran out of frosting. It looked like Hell. My hope was that people would assume Luke made it himself. Luckily, Luke is laid back and didn't care how bad it looked. He went to town with the blue frosting on the top and here is the end result:



Notice his neckerchief on skiwompus and his awful haircut..poor kid..where is his mother? Probably sitting at some table in the back yakking with her friends.

Here is the photo of the night (pirate theme) craziness.



Luke was George Washington in a school program. I provided the costume (pirate costume from parade last summer) and I was impressed to hear him give his part. It was substantial and the first time I heard it was when he gave it in the program...



I did take Luke skiing a few times and I figure that makes up for it.



Sammie went to a daddy-daughter fairy ball with Sam at our gym. That is all I have to report on her.



Ryan had a birthday party at Jungle Jim's. He turned four. He chose Sponge Bob invitations, a Batman cake and blue, orange, and green balloons. All of this had nothing to do with the Jungle Jim's party. There was a time when that would have bugged me. Those days are looong gone. He had fun.



Mitchell continues to be the cutest toddler on the planet. He is perfecting his "surprised face" and I caught it on camera. He helps me make cookies. If I ever bring you cookies, be warned that he has helped by tasting the dough between every.step.along.the.way.



I am still drinking a lot of Diet Coke but not feeling bad about it. My New Year's Resolution was to only have one when I really wanted one..I know..I am so hard on myself. But I went out with a doctor recently who told me he drinks Diet Coke non stop because he truly believes it kills everything in his stomach and keeps him from getting sick. That was all I needed to hear. I am upping my intake. Gotta stay healthy.

I keep thinking I am going to pull out of triage mode and my life will be pretty again and I will care what other people think. But sadly, I think I've resigned myself to the craziness.