Pinterest. The new crack.

A friend described pinterest to me as an online corkboard of your favorite stuff on the internet.

Bam!

And there it is.

That's exactly what it is.

You run across a great recipe you want to keep, pin it.
You see an ADORABLE dresser in an ad on some website that you MUST try to replicate, pin it.
You see something that just makes you smile, pin it.

You can pin virtually any image on the interweb and reference it later. When you pin an image the link is recorded and you can click on it later and get RIGHT back where you want to be.

(When you become a member the "pin" tool just gets added to your browser's taskbar. You click on the pin and then select the image you want to "pin".)

Example: I pinned a recipe for an amazing dessert, because that's something I would do. I add it to my "recipes" corkboard. I decide 2 months later I need to make the recipe. I go to my pinterest account, find the picture I pinned, click on it and then wah-la -- there's the recipe.

I make it.
I like it.
I gain 4 lbs.

I'm happy.

SO, need a pinterest invite? Let me know. Email me at kylee at twopretzels dot com.

Wanna see some of the stuff I've pinned?

There's more.

Oh, and you can "pin" other stuff that your friends pin. It's like social networking, but with pictures.

And of course I had a puppy included in some of the pictures I pinned.

Who doesn't like puppies?

"Pinterest, it will be your crack."

I promise you that.

P.S. I even got C. to join.


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iPads. And Apps that my toddler likes.

Yes. I let my two-year-old play with my iPad.
Why? Well, because sometimes Mommy needs to read to get ready for work/have quiet time.

So, before I get into Lila's favorite apps, let me tell you about my cover that I'm currently quite happy with. (See above.)

When C. originally bought me Pam (my iPad), he bought me the orange "smart" cover. It took about 2 days to realize that it offers nothing in the way of protection.

So, when we were in the States in July we get this little bad boy from Brookstone and we LOVE it. It clips on to the face of the iPad and you can stand it up in 3 different positions. It's great. And, it's not bulky but provides adequate protection. My only complaint? It doesn't come in orange.

You can't have it all.

I also highly recommend the clear plastic full-screen protectors... they're fantastic for grubby little toddler hands.

Moving on...

Here are some of Lila's faves.

Couldn't live without:
Paint my Wings: This is the highlight of Lila's world. You can paint butterflies wings and it mirrors whatever you do on one side of the wings on the other. I've played it. I like it. So cute. Totally worth .99. LOVE this app.

"So... how'd it go?!"Update on Lila's first day of school

So, it was cute.

This morning Lila opened our bedroom door, as she does every morning, and came into our room to say, "Mornin' Momma. Mornin' Daddy," carrying her new school shoes that she affectionately calls her "pinks."

We had laid out her school uniform, including her pinks, the night before and she was so excited to put her new shoes on that clearly they were the first thing she was thinking of this morning.

What a sweetie.

While we were getting her dressed, it just seemed like she was so proud. She knew that today was her day.

When it was time to leave, we handed her her lunchbag and she.was.ready.

(WHERE DID MY BABY GO?)

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen? Her uniform is that pink shirt with either a jean skirt or jean shorts with socks and tennis shoes. That skirt? It's a size 18 months.

Of course she had to pose with Daddy and Mommy.

Think of me.

As you read this I am dropping off and leaving my child at her first-ever day of school...

This expression says it all.


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Wilted like lettuce.

It's been pretty hot down here these days.

Yep. I know. Go ahead, I'll wait: "What do you expect?  You live in Mexico."

I know, I know.

But SHEESH.

I always liken this time of year to a midwestern winter. We're stuck in our houses and can't go outside. In Toledo, we were stuck in our houses and didn't go outside lest we freeze. In Cabo, we're stuck in our houses and don't go outside lest we melt.

So today I decided to walk the ladies (sans Ferg) over to the grocery store to pick up a few items.

Look at them. This is right after we returned.

They're wilted.

'Twas 4 p.m. and 94 degrees.

Yikes.

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Seriously? Ferg gets 8,920 points for being so chipper. But seriously? She's panting.

Hello hotness.


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And the winners are... BlogHer SWAG giveaway

[Note: I am so sorry for how long it's taken for me to report the winners. As ya'll know, it's been crazy around here. Who's living la vida loca? Me. HA! I swear I love Ricky Martin. I digress.]

So remember I went to BlogHer and I got a whole bunch of swag?
Well, I divided it into two groups: baby-related stuff and "general" stuff.
I decided to give away these swag to two of my readers.

These were the rules for entires:

Utilizing random.org I chose the FIRST winner of the BABY-related swag:

YAY! This made me smile since my fellow blogger, Wrestling Kitties, was #33. And, she will be having her first baby, Henry, in approximately TWELVE  days... (YAY!)

Next, also utilizing random.org I chose the SECOND winner of the GENERAL swag:

This also made me smile since Summer is also a blogger, was #20 and she is pregnant. And, she's a sweetheart.

So, there you have it!

Congrats to Wrestling Kitties & Summer!

(Read their blogs.)

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On my honor, I promise I didn't cheat. For a list of the entrants, see below.

Ladies, your respective swag should be mailed by Wednesday of this week. (Big thanks to my MIL for helping me with this!)

Thanks for all of the entrants!


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Nope. Absolutely not.

So. Kim Kardashian got married to that guy who plays basketball.

I've heard some people [read: the people on E!] state that they felt this was the, "Wedding of the Year" and I've even heard that the Kardashian wedding touted as America's "Royal Wedding."

Barf.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Kim Kardashian getting married is as important to me as Christopher Knight ("Peter" from The Brady Brunch) divorcing that one girl who won "America's Next Top Model" a hundred years ago.

["Who"?]

Exactly.

That said, let's talk about what we've seen of Kim's dress already.

Boring.

I'm bored.

The headpiece was terrible. (I googled, "Armenian wedding traditions" in an attempt to understand why she choose that particular head decor and came up empty handed.)

Boo.

The dress was boring.
The tule was intense.

Thus far, I'm not impressed.

You?


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Go, go, go, go, go, go, go...

I'm allowing myself to take a 10 minute break from what has seemed like a never-ending crazy-intense and busy time at work.

It appears, dear friends and readers, that I can't do it all.

I can't be super mommy.
I can't be super marketing-lady.
I can't be the best wife in all the world.
I can't be a blogger extraordinaire.
I certainly can't be an amazing cook or baker.
And, I can't even be a super-great, email-returning and phone-call returning friend and daughter.

It appears that my life, for a brief moment, has slightly overtaken me.

I always talk about seasons. How throughout our lives our circumstances change as quickly as they begin; just like the seasons. I'm thankful for these changes. Sometimes everything is "OMG-AMAZING!" and, well, sometimes things are tough.

Well, dear friends -- even though it's 90 degrees outside, I'm hovering in winter. I feel as if I'm in a blizzard. I can't necessarily even see what's in front of me. I'm over it.

This isn't like me.

I hate winter. (Hence living in Mexico.)

If I were being honest, and I try to be, I would imagine this is a pretty common feeling for Moms all over the world. Especially working Moms. Especially working Moms of a toddler and a baby who are 19 months apart.

We just can't do it all.

And ugh. That is such a ridiculously tough pill to swallow.

I wish I was a born under-achiever.

This would all be much easier.

--end of pity party and public self-analyzation--

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In other news: Lila starts school on Monday. (tear)

Her Daddy took her to buy new tennis shoes today. She wanted these... because they're "piiiiiink".

Ah, this makes me smile.

Where did Baby Lila go?


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My ladies

Mama hasn't felt so good and has a ridiculous amount of work so she's relying on her babies as a sort of cheater post.

Enjoy.

Precious child. She's 7 months old now. 

Yes, SEVEN months old.

Somebody (Vivienne) loves to wake up and see her sister in her room.

Vivienne loves watching Lila.

Lila likes the audience.

Listening to the wind chime.

Craig made Lila a popsicle stick puzzle.

Lila loved it.

Have a great weekend!

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No post today. I'm sick.

And last night I chose to sleep over blog.

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Anything you want to know? Leave me a comment. I shall write about it.

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It takes all kinds.

There are two different kinds of people in this world: people who like wind chimes... and people who don't.

Let me revise that statement.

There are two different kinds of people in this world: people who like believe in unicorns... and people who don't.

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Buy that gem here for the low, low price of $19.99.


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The husband was born today. I should thank his Mom.

Dear Craig's Mom,

Thank you.

Thank you for having sweet little baby, Craig.

It seems like every year on August 23rd, I write a post and acknowledge how amazing your son he is.
I write about how he's the best thing that's ever happened to me.
How I'm proud to be his best friend and his wife.
How he is the funniest, most intelligent and most comforting soul I have ever known.
How I wish everyone on the planet could have their own Craig.

However, I think I'm missing a vital part of his story.

Without you, there would be no him.

And for that I am eternally grateful.

Your sweet baby, your little boy, your level-headed teenager is now the most amazing man...
(I'm sure this comes as no surprise to you, though.)
You have so much to be proud of.
I hope my daughters meet and marry someone just like him.
And as far as I'm concerned, he's the measure by which all men should be judged.

Because of you and your influence - he's strong. He's kind. He's empathetic. He's intelligent. He's funny. He's industrious. He's incredible.

Thanks for raising the little boy who grew up to be the finest man, the sweetest friend and the best Daddy in all the world.

Love,
Kylee

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Dear husband-o-mine,

You and I know it: without you, I'd be a mess.

The doors would never be locked.
My house would be full of broken things and I wouldn't know which animals were cows and which were horses.

See? A mess.

You have taught me so much.

I love you.
I am so very pleased that you were born.

Happy, happy birthday, sweet Craig.

With all my heart I love you,
me

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In case you want to reminisce about your birthdays of yore:
Birthday post from 2010.
Birthday post from 2009.
Birthday post from 2008.
Birthday post from 2007.
Birthday post from 2006.


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Things I don't understand about Mexico. Car-related (The short list.)

I understand it's imperative to report the good things about living in another culture and another country, but today is Monday. And I'm annoyed.

1. WHY ARE THERE NO DRIVE-UP ATMs here? My bank has an ATM conveniently located in between my home and office and I must go there and park and then walk up to the ATM which is located in the strip mall.

Am I lazy? No.

But I'll tell you what, it is 90 degrees at 9 a.m. It is HOT. I am wearing pants and am trying not to sweat BEFORE I go to work. I don't want frizzy hair and my makeup sliding down my face. I JUST WANT A DRIVE UP ATM.

AHHHHHhhhhhhh.

2. The parking lots. WHY ARE THE PARKING SPACES SO SMALL? When I lived in the States I would get so annoyed when another car would every now and then accidentally (I assumed) open their door into the side of my car and thus leave a small reminder of their close proximity.

Here? It's the norm. The daily norm. THE spaces are no more than 5 ft. wide and EVERY car is HUGE. I have SO many dents and dings on my car and it DRIVES ME CRAZY.

And, I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I've WITNESSED people hitting my car with their car door and they have said NOTHING. No, "Pardon" no "Sorry about that"... NOTHING.

WHAT?!?!

3. WHY DOESN'T ANYONE UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF MERGING? When driving on to the highway no one EVER gets over into the left lane to let you enter on the right nice and easy-like. Nope, you have to come to a complete stop... and then gun it.

WHY would you pro-actively think of letting someone else onto the highway by moving your car into EMPTY left lane? It's just too easy. That's the problem: it makes too much sense.

This happens every.single.day: I attempt to merge. They don't move, even though the left lane is empty, I get annoyed.

4. WHY DOESN'T ANYONE STOP at a STOP sign?

The sign says, "Alto". (Stop.) It doesn't say "Slow" it doesn't say "pause"... IT SAYS STOP.

SO STOP.

This is incredibly easy to understand. Stop sign = stop driving.

5. YOUR CAR COMES WITH A BLINKER. It's also called a turn signal and it is to be used only when indicating that you are going to turn right or left -- or not at all.

You can't just DRIVE down the highway in the left lane with your left blinker on because you're carrying a mattress on your VW beetle's roof.

OR, you can't just omit the blinker from your everyday driving because it's too difficult of a concept to learn. It is a courtesy. It alerts people as to your intentions while on the road so that we all can attempt to get from Point A to Point B without some massive accident.

6. CHILDREN NEED A CAR SEAT. Why on earth would you insist on holding your infant while you drive? Are you kidding me?

I wish I could say that I've only seen this once or twice.

And the toddlers and small children standing in the backseat of your car? THEY NEED CAR SEATS, TOO. And don't even get me started about the kids riding in the backseat of pickup trucks while sitting on folding beach chair or old mini van bench seats.

7.WHY ARE THERE STREETLIGHTS INSTALLED THAT DON'T WORK? The streetlights installed by the Mega round-about have been there for what? Four years? WHY HAVE THE NEVER BEEN TURNED ON???

It's one of the most dangerous intersections in Cabo and it has streetlights, yet they have never been installed properly.

Kills me.

All of this, just drives me CRAZY.

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Next up: A post about all of the things I love about Cabo. However, today? I needed this.



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