America's Got Talent final thoughts plus I Love Groupon - September 16, 2010

Here's my final thoughts on this year's America's Got Talent Finale - pbbbbpbbbhhhtttt. Not a fan of how it all came out at all. Another singer wins (talented, but NOT a Vegas act). Ho hum. I didn't think Prince Poppycock would win, but I still was wishing... (I just read on a message board that he was supposed to perform a David Bowie song instead of the opera, and it fell through. If that is true, and he had gotten to do another pop song, would he have ranked higher?) I still hope the tour lineup is good...

Today's Groupon deal is $12 for $25 at Noodle in both Decatur, GA, and Atlanta, GA. I love Noodle - big bowls of warm, yummy noodles with delicious sauce and fresh veggies. They're extremely vegetarian friendly but also great for meat eaters. Check it out.

I had a whole CVS run planned, and I was going to get freebies and make a bit of money (in Extrabucks currency), and then I found out that some of the coupons I had planned to use weren't for the size product that was on sale. That raised what my out of pocket (OOP) cost would've been, and I didn't need any of the things I was going to get, so I skipped it. So different from how I approached CVS a year ago, when I didn't care what I got as long as it was free! My stockpile is overflowing now, though, and my time is limited, so I have to choose my deals more carefully.

It's tricky finding time to blog while my kid is out of school... Staycation activity for today is lunch with friends and possibly an afternoon snack of New Orleans-style snoballs with different friends. Tomorrow we're supposed to go to the children's museum - I hope it works out!

Staycation Day 1 - Zoo Atlanta - September 13, 2010

My daughter has this entire week off from preschool; just when we'd gotten used to the whole routine (six weeks of it), everything's gone topsy turvy. I suppose this schedule of six weeks on/one week off works well for teachers, and older kids may benefit (or may just sleep late all week), but man, it's disruptive. But we're making the best of it with a Staycation.

Today we hit Zoo Atlanta using tickets I'd gotten for half price from Half Off Depot. The kid was OK with the whole thing - not entirely thrilled to be there, several whiny moments, but no all-out meltdowns, really. That's a good day out for her. We spent two hours exploring and did manage to see just about everything. The budgie exhibit (parakeets all over the place!) amused me greatly. We got a nice view of the lions snoozing, saw a snake laying non-fertile eggs (a woman near us was asking the zoo worker if she could have some and was making arrangements to pick them up later - I wish I'd heard exactly WHY she wanted them), and got really close to a ring-tailed lemur. Good stuff.

Then we tried out Grant Central Pizza & Pasta for lunch. Delicious. Seriously, some of the best pizza I've had since we moved to Atlanta. Crispy crust, fresh toppings, nom nom nom. My husband's calzone was monstrous, and my daughter's cheese slice came kid cut without me asking. We'll definitely go back.

Snoozing piggie in the petting zoo

Baby giraffe! Just before I took this pic, she was nursing, awwww

Vacuum cleaner sucks up budgie...oooh...bye bye.... (that's for my husband)

The lioness checks us out

We always say one of my cats acts just like a meerkat

Also, I listed a few more new goodies in my Etsy shop:

Dishwasher magnet - are the dishes dirty or clean?

Daily affirmation pocket mirror #1 - You Are Loved

Daily affirmation pocket mirror #2 - You Are Worthy

More daily affirmation pocket mirrors on their way! I really love this idea and this new line - I just feel like everyone could use a hug these days, you know what I mean?