Selling Lemonade

My kids have been begging me to let them "Sell, SOMETHING, MOM!"

I thought it would be clever to sell something other than lemonade. You know, up their chances of making a few pennies.

Now I just know that other moms are smarter than me.

Taking an idea and running with it, left me outside four four hours, painting kid's faces-- some who paid and others who just got away with it because....

I thought I'd mow the lawn and work out side, and take breaks as needed, to paint faces.

As if.

I was swamped.

And I was doing pretty good, until one kid asked for

Lightening McQueen.

And after I scoffed at my lack of skills, he changed his mind for an ANGRY BIRD.

Oh boy.

But it was so fun, and I am so glad I spent the day outside with the kids.  It was the most perfect weather, and not a breeze to be felt.

And even if they only made $4 (after expenses) the kids had a great time, begging to do it again "tomorrow."

Yeah, Lemonade is sounding pretty good right now.

Takes less of MY time.

But knowing me, you guessed it.  

I'll not be giving them lemonade to sell.

Oh no.

Next comes a bigger, more profitable plan.

Which will take some time on my part, but hey, they're worth it.

I love letting my kids enjoy summer, they way a kid should.

That would be 50 Cents.  Forgot to add that part.  Oh well.  Most people figured it out!

Hungry Games Survivor

sur·vi·vor/sərˈvīvər/

Noun:

A person who survives, esp. a person remaining alive after an event in which others have died   Okay, not one person has died in the process of this Hungry Games, at least not yet. But it's been 10 days now, and I gotta say, it's going great!  The kids ration themselves really well. They tell others about the snack tray and they seem so much happier than before when it comes to snacks. AND THE BEST PART?  I haven't heard "I'M HUNGRY!!!" for nearly two weeks!

 Here are some examples over the last few days of some of the trays!

The Hungry Games

The Hungry Games. It's worse than after school snack issues. Much worse.

After I saw this, I went to bed thinking, I don't want my summer to be like this!

I know I am not the only one who has this problem, so I'm sharing my idea. I woke up the next morning, and pulled out a relish tray with dividers. I then gathered my ruthless Tributes and explained "The Snack Tray".

Such a creative name for it, I know.

I will put snacks on the tray everyday, but not until 10:30 am. There will be days the snack tray will not be available- like if we go to the lake all day. They do not have to ask me to eat off the tray, but when the tray is empty, it's empty. I have a tray that has several compartments, and I labeled them so that each Tribute has their District's commodities. So they're personalized compartments to avoid fighting and thieving. Though, Tributes will do, what Tributes do best: Fight and Steal.

Here is my list of snack ideas to fill the tray with, if you'd like ideas, and I'm sure there are more ideas based on what your Tribute will eat. (If you have other ideas to add- please do!)

Last but not least, I will add a sliced apple or halved bananas either early in the day and provide little else til those are gone or wait until their tray is nearly empty and then add the items that do best chilled or such- like cheese sticks.

I asked the Tributes what they thought of this Hungry Game, and I had all four tell me they LOVED it and Catelyn even said it's a great idea. So it must be.

And Jo Jo said she loved that ''she didn't have to ask me.'' Which I thought was pretty grown up for a 5 year old.

Cheese (sliced and sticked)
Goldfish
Pretzels
Nuts
Raisins, Craisins
Popsicle stick- Represents a frozen one, and then they turn the stick into me.
Apples, Grapes, etc.
Celery, Baby carrots, etc.
Olives
Fruit Snacks
Granola Bars
Graham Crackers
Wheat Thins
Ritz
A small sugar treat- like a Laffy Taffy or Starburst
Stick of Gum
Marshmallows

Anyway, I hope that this summer, I can keep the kids alive and well fed, while Kyle goes to work everyday. 

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!

Writers Conference: The Outtakes

An outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended as bonus tracks  or features, but not always, for the sake of humor. In terms of photos, an outtake may also mean the ones which are not released in the original set of photos.

FOR GOOD REASON. I might add.

Trees with painted trunks

A salad

This is how you zoom.

Return of the Weirdos. If your not sure what I am talking about, see THIS.

Dairy Cows like mine!

"What?"

Chicken Caesar Salad

Delicious Dessert

Uhhhhh....

Camera went AWOL

The misting restaurant

Camelback Mountains

Flying away...

Something I made

Something else I made.

Too much tooth?
But Destiny's girls are great!

What I had to clean immediately on arrival home.

Writers Conference: Church

I am fairly certain that Destiny and I were the only guests of the conference that were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  {Also known as LDS or Mormon.}  Perhaps not, as there were several women and a few men who were so similar to us in dress and language.  Who knows.  One of the biggest 'tips' that perhaps we were different, however was the small fact we weren't drinking any coffee or alcohol.  I had one sweet lady figure it out and as me if I was Mormon.  I smiled and was happy to reply yes to her question.

I watched this little video, and if you have time, you can watch it too, but it lifted my spirits and made me even more grateful for the opportunities I have to share my faith and to understand that while perhaps I might feel as if I "Stand Alone" I am never alone. I certainly didn't feel alone while at the conference, especially with Destiny there, but I would have a time or two without her.

My faith in God and my religion are a large part of my life, and so I quickly took notice of the temples and churches in the Phoenix area.

There is such a wonderful and reassuring feeling that comes when you can attend a church hundred,s and even thousands, of miles away from home and hear the same steady messages. 

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I highly value the teachings, principles and ordinances available to me because of my Savior Jesus Christ.

I love knowing where I came from, why I am here, and what my purpose in life is. It's the greatest gift to know my potential as a Daughter of God.

Anyway, Destiny and I had just enough time to attend church on Sunday and partake of the sacrament.  We wished we could have stayed all three hours, but our flight to Las Vegas didn't allot for that.

As we left, I snapped photos of the landscape, the buildings and stores, of the church we attended and the temples.

 {Small side note.... clearly those are Palm Trees, but for me, they are a sign of Paradise, and McAllister is a family name! and I laughed as I saw the corner of Stetson and Drinkwater.... Kyle and I have a friend named Stetson, so it was pretty silly, but funny to me.}

{The Temple in Mesa}

This the the Gilbert Arizona Temple and the Angel Moroni statue was just installed May 15, 2012. While we were mad dashing back to the airport on the Santan Freeway, we breezed past this beauty, and I snapped a shot of it.  I don't know if I'll ever see it again, but I sure hope so!

"We continue to build temples. We desire that as many members as possible have an opportunity to attend the temple without having to travel inordinate distances."

—President Thomas S. Monson

Writers Conference: LOSER

I'm not kidding when I say I never win stuff.

It's always the person sitting NEXT to me.
 

All you have to do is sit right next to me, and you'll win if there is any kind of door prize, raffle, or drawing.  For years, Dana and I would go to these scrap-booking getaways, and they would give stuff away like crazy, and she knew she'd win, simply because she was WITH ME and SITTING NEXT TO ME.

I do not exaggerate.  Not this time.

Well you already know that I DID NOT win the Nook.

*sniffle, sniffle, silent tear*

But would you like to know the rest of the story?

Of course you would.

I specifically told Destiny that her odds of winning were significantly higher. {Now that I think about it, I should have made her buy my tickets, place them all the in the bag for the Nook, and then when she won it, paid her for the tickets and taken the Nook.}

Anyway, she just laughed at me.

Oh, Destiny, why are ye of such little faith?

Little did she know.

Well, at this point, you're wanting to know if she won.  Aren't you? 

Not only did SHE WIN, but within minutes of her winning a Pamper Yourself Basket, the sweet lady on my left ALSO WON.

SERIOUSLY?????

Would it kill the the Gods of Chance to give me a break, once in a while?

Taken MOMENTS before the raffle started.  No joke.

Ten minutes later.
I feel bad, because this sweet gal blink in all three shots that we took.
My whole table thought it was pretty funny, however.
Glad I was there for their added entertainment.
And YES, I really had chicken for dinner.

Writers Conference: The Weirdos

And by WEIRDOS, I mean me.  

And since Destiny was my sidekick, 

and because I HAVE PROOF of her crazy, she's also weird.

Here's a run down of who the NORMAL people are.

The most darling 16 year old writer and her sweet "Sister" Elise and Stacey. Elise was my first DDC friend.
Stacey was the second friend I made there and in charge of a lot of things at the conference.

And the WEIRDOS appears.

This is Tom Leveen, Author of ZERO and PARTY and he was a Guest Speaker for the conference attendees on Friday night.  He was AWESOME and his sense of humor? The stuff STAND UP COMEDY is made of.

Afterwords, we had to say hello.
Guide to Photos:

1. I'm WEIRD.
2. I'm STILL WEIRD.
3. Now Destiny discovers she's with two WEIRDOS.
4. I'm a bit less WEIRD, but they were super WEIRD.
5. THE WEIRDOS.

The following include myself acting WEIRD, yet again with new friends from the Conference.  Remember SUSAN ThetheifoftheNOOK?  Well, see we are friends!  And this is Chris, who has a children's chapter book he's trying to publish.  It would be right up Catelyn and Landon's alley. I hope he gets picked up! And Author Beth Andrews and Monique, another wouldkilltobepublished writer.

 Like I said, I'm the WEIRDOS.