Other

We made it home from Bryan yesterday around 1:00. It took a little effort for us to get the kids up and the car packed and all of us out the door and into the car by 10:00 a.m., but we managed it. Although I think I was still half-asleep until we were about thirty minutes into the trip.

Which wouldn’t be a bad thing unless you consider the fact that I was driving.

Of course the only problem with getting home so early was that there were still so many hours left until happy hour and Gulley and I could have used a glass or a bottle of wine after a three hour drive with the kids. Forty-five minutes of which may have involved a burping contest.

But I spent the afternoon doing laundry and unpacking suitcases and making a grocery list. And then I actually went to the grocery store and the whole experience was slightly more pleasant than ramming my head into a brick wall.

Now I’m home with my people. And we’re going to spend the next few days staying up late and watching movies and eating too many carbs and just generally enjoying life.

I hope y’all will be doing the same.

I am so thankful that you take the time to stop by here and wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, and I wrote a post about my favorite Thanksgiving T.V. moments over on Ree’s blog if you want to check it out.

Gobble, gobble.

I had every intention in the world of doing a post but the Internet seems to be down in my hotel room and all I have is my iPhone.

And if you think I’m going to do an entire post typing with one finger, well, God bless you for your optimism.

I’ll do the promised giveaway on Monday with a special Monday edition of Fashion Friday.

Y’all have a good Friday.

Zeo Sleep Coach Review and Giveaway

If memory serves, and occasionally it does, I believe I may have mentioned once or eighty-six times that I tend to have some sleep issues. It wasn’t always this way. I used to be able to hit the pillow and be out like a light.

But at some point in the last three years, hormonal shifts combined with my outstanding ability to deal in worst case scenarios at 3:00 a.m. have led to many a restless night. You can imagine how much this thrills P since he has to share a bed with me every night.

The worst part is that I drag through the next day trying to make myself not fall asleep on the couch or in the drive-thru at Starbucks. I hate walking around feeling like the walking dead, and it doesn’t do much for me in the way of productivity.

So I’ve been working to figure out ways to improve my sleep because everything you read about health and wellness states the importance of a good night’s sleep. Yes. I agree. But how do I go to there?

I’ve tried a combination of things, some natural and some not-so-natural. I have yet to resort to any kind of prescription sleep aid because I’ve heard horror stories about people waking up with a half-eaten bag of Doritos in their bed, and I struggle enough with trying to eat healthy during my waking hours without it becoming something I do subconsciously.

Anyway, since sleep is such a big issue for me, I was excited when Best Buy sent me a Zeo Sleep Manager.

The Zeo allows you to get a full picture of your sleep habits with this mobile Sleep Manager that features an adjustable SoftWave sensor headband to track sleep stages and measure REM and deep sleep. The SmartWake alarm helps you wake up refreshed and ready for your day. And if that’s true, then it’s a miracle because I rarely wake up refreshed and ready for the day. Honestly, I think it would take more than a sleep manager for that to happen.

So I tried out the Zeo Sleep Manager and downloaded the accompanying app on my iPhone.

And here’s the thing, while I love the idea of tracking my sleep and knowing my sleep patterns and waking up refreshed and rested, it wasn’t easy for me to sleep with that headband thing on my head. I felt a little bit like a lab rat. But that could just be me.

The headband is actually really comfortable as far as headbands go, but I have a hard time sleeping if the fan is on medium instead of high. I’ve been known to get up and change pillowcases on my pillow because the eyelet trim is beginning to bug me, and WHY DID I EVER BUY THESE SHEETS? In other words, I have issues.

However, it’s a great concept and I can see how it would absolutely help you track your sleep and make sure you’re getting enough REM sleep and all that every night.

And I love the alarm feature that senses when you’re in a lighter phase of sleep and then wakes you up. So much better than being woken from the dead with a clanging gong of an alarm clock like in the olden days.

And, best of all, you have a chance to win your very own Zeo Sleep Manager. All you have to do is leave a comment letting me know about your sleep issues because it will make me feel better. And give me something to think about when I try to go to sleep tonight. Here are the rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
The sweepstakes runs from 1/11 – 1/17/2012.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here. 

Also be sure to visit the Inspiration to Fitness page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews, get great fitness tips and find more chances to win!  You can also click on the Best Buy image at the top of my blog to view a calendar of all the Inspiration to Fitness content. Good luck!

Best Buy does not sponsor, endorse, approve, or have any responsibility for this promotion.

Well, I just watched the Aggies lose in the bottom of the ninth inning to South Carolina. Which totally bums me out. And then I was excited to turn on the Miss U.S.A. pageant until I remembered that Miss U.S.A. doesn’t have a talent competition. Just a bunch of tanned girls in their early twenties with perfect bodies in swimsuits. Frankly, my self-esteem doesn’t need that kind of hit right now.

It would just bring out an ugly side in me that would desperately hope to hear one of them say something about “the shortage of maps in the U.S. of America and the IRAQ” to prove there are some flaws that perfect thighs can’t hide.

So on to things that don’t involve pageants or baseball.

Caroline was in VBS all last week and so we had a reason to get up and be productive every day. However, all that comes to a screeching halt this week because we have between zero and two plans on the calendar. And that is fine with me. Saturday morning was the first morning in two weeks that we didn’t have somewhere to be at any certain time. Which is why we were in our pajamas making pancakes around noon. It was delightful. And much needed after our Friday evening.

What? What went wrong on Friday evening?

The pool grill.

P’s back has been bothering him for the last few days because he tried to lift a flower pot that appeared to be one of those foam-type pots but was actually made of cast iron or titanium or something equally heavy. And so he spent most of Thursday and all of Friday popping a steady stream of muscle relaxers.

None of that has anything to do with the pool grill.

But now I kind of wish it led into some fantastic story of how P ended up at the pool grill all hopped up on muscle relaxers and made a huge scene. Because that would be such a more interesting story than what you’re actually about to get.

So, since P was down in the back as my Me-Ma used to say, Gulley and I decided we’d just take Will and Caroline to the pool Friday night and eat dinner there. Jackson was with another friend but, there again, that has nothing to do with this story.

Gulley had been at the pool on Wednesday and reported that it took FOREVER for them to get their food after they ordered and that Will’s nachos never showed up at all. Which is understandable because it takes virtually SECONDS to melt cheese on some chips in a microwave. But since we are optimists, we chose to believe that it was a fluke. Especially since we’ve been enjoying the chicken fingers at the pool grill for seven summers at this point. And while the service can occasionally get a little spotty around the end of July when the teenage cooks become cranky and surly, June is usually a banner month for the grill.

(As long as your definition of banner is fairly mediocre food served in a timely manner.)

We arrived at the pool around 5:30 and decided to order dinner at 6:30 because we figured it would probably be ready around 7:00. And I realize what I’m about to say is a FIRST WORLD PROBLEM of the ultimate kind, we still had no chicken fingers or nachos at 8:05. There was some story going around about how one of their fryers broke, but this didn’t explain the multitude of families who were waiting on their hot dogs to be ready. There were toddlers crying for their grilled cheese sandwiches and mothers crying because WHAT GOOD IS THE POOL IF YOU CAN’T GO HOME WITH KIDS THAT ARE TIRED BUT FED?

It was the closest thing I’ve ever seen to pure suburban mutiny.

I realize the grill is under new management and they’re trying to get all fancy with their offerings of ceviche and soft pretzels. But you know what moms want? Chicken fingers and hot dogs in a timely manner. We are a simple people with simple desires.

And so I kind of feel like I’m grieving the loss of the pool grill dinner strategy while simultaneously hoping they pull it together before the entire summer is a wash. If not, I’m researching ways to sneak in ham sandwiches or Chick-fil-A.

Needless to say, we avoided the pool on Saturday. Caroline went to see a production of Pinkalicious with a friend and I attempted to catch up on laundry. Then Sunday morning we all went to church and spent most of the day hanging out.

Later that evening, Mimi and Bops came over and I cooked a big Father’s Day dinner. I loved spending time with my two favorite dads.

The one that raised me.

(That’s me as Henrietta Hippo for Halloween. My daddy is dressed as a man from the mid-70’s. Please note the sweet hair.)

And the one that’s raising Caroline.

I could not love either of them more.

Hope y’all had a great weekend.

So today’s post is going to be a little different from what I normally write. Which means there may actually be some useful information to be found.

For the last four or so years, the most common question I get via email is something along the lines of “My family and I are planning to visit San Antonio. Where should we go? What should we do?”

And I try to think of the things we enjoy doing but then decide it might be awkward to invite total strangers to come sit on our couch and eat takeout Mexican food while we watch Friday Night Lights together.

Thus, I’ve always thought it would be such a good idea to write an entire post about things to do and places to eat in San Antonio. A sort of informal, possibly uninformed, tour guide if you will. Then I’d forget all about it and just sit on the couch and drink my large drink from Sonic instead. Until the next time I’d get a similar email and start the entire process all over again.

But all that has changed. IT HAS CHANGED. Because today’s post is my official guide to vacationing in San Antonio. And, OH THE PRESSURE, because I’m sure I’ve left out some fun things and great restaurants in my very limited scope of all there is to do in this city.

So, to my San Antonio peeps, feel free to add your suggestions and/or thoughts in the comments. Then we will have one handy and, lo, even dandy guide to the city that I can refer to whenever someone asks me what they should do when they visit and I stare at the computer blankly until I finally email back, “Have you been to the Alamo?”

Let’s start with restaurants. There are a million of them in the city, but these are some of my personal favorites. Yes, most of them are Mexican food.

1. Rosarios

Great food and fun atmosphere. Love their guacamole.

2. Soluna

You can’t go wrong. And they have a great patio when the weather isn’t 115 degrees.

3. Paloma Blanca

Ditto on the patio. I LOVE their fish tacos.

4. Acenar

This is a fun place because it’s on the Riverwalk. And, apparently, people enjoy the Riverwalk.

5. Patty’s Taco House

Patty’s doesn’t have a website. And it’s only open for breakfast and lunch. And it is some of the best Mexican food you will ever eat. If you can find it. It’s on Hackberry Street past downtown. Make sure you order the cheese enchiladas.

6. Mi Tierra

Total tourist spot, but tortillas to die for. It’s located in the Market Square so it’s a perfect place to stop and eat while you shop.

7. Boudro’s

This isn’t a Mexican food place. Surprise! It’s on the Riverwalk and everything is delicious. Make sure you order the tableside guacamole because it will change your life. You’ll never look at avocados the same way again.

8. Barbecue Station

My second favorite food group is barbecue. And I think this is the best barbecue in San Antonio. The creamed corn will make you cry.

9. Chris Madrid’s

I mentioned this yesterday. Order the tostada burger. And be prepared that you will never again be satisfied with a normal cheeseburger.

10. El Mirador

I haven’t been in forever, but when I used to work downtown I’d eat lunch there about three times a week. They have these puffy tacos with shredded cabbage on top that make me want to drive there right now and eat six of them.

11. The Pearl Brewery

The Pearl Brewery is located close to downtown and has become a great spot in the last few years. There’s a Farmer’s Market every Saturday and some of the best restaurants in the city. Specifically, Il Sogno for Italian and The Sandbar for seafood.

So now let’s talk shopping.

If you have time to shop, then you have a few downtown options. Rivercenter Mall is located right on the River Walk and has just about every store you can imagine.

For a fun, unique San Antonio experience, I would head to Market Square. It’s basically like being in Mexico but without anyone carrying around a whole pig’s head in a clear plastic bag. (That scenario is based on a true story) El Mercado has restaurants, shops, and tons of local flavor.

And if you decide to venture outside of downtown, then I would suggest The Shops at La Cantera for some serious shopping including Neimans and Nordstrom or The Outlet Malls in San Marcos where you can find just about every outlet store you could ever imagine. It’s overwhelming.

As for family-friendly activities, here’s the list:

1. SeaWorld

Shamu. What else do you need to know?

2. San Antonio Zoo

I don’t really care for a zoo. But you might.

3. Fiesta Texas

Rollercoasters.

4. Schlitterbahn Water Park

Voted one of the best waterparks in the world. I have the best memories of going there with my dad when I was little. He’d wear sweatbands around his elbows to prevent innertube burn. Good times.

5. Natural Bridge Caverns

We took Caroline there last summer and I’d forgotten how cool it is. Stalagtites and mites and all that stuff.

And then there are all the other things:

You can take a Riverboat cruise down the Riverwalk. It’s a tourist thing, but people seem to enjoy it.

Also, little known fact, San Antonio is home to a little piece of history called The Alamo. And, in all honesty, if you haven’t ever seen it, then you’re missing out. Of course if you’re from Wisconsin it may not mean as much to you as it does to those of us that are proud Texans.

And if you enjoy history and missions and that sort of thing, you can visit the San Antonio Missions. Not to be confused with the minor league baseball team of the same name. Although you could go see them too. But you might be disappointed if you’re looking for old churches.

Another option is La Villita. It’s located downtown and is a historical art village filled with shops and a few restaurants.

Or you could tour the King William District and see some really beautiful historic homes.

And then there are the hotels. You can stay on the Riverwalk. Or you can stay out by Sea World. Or you can stay out by La Cantera. There are approximately six quadrillion hotels in the city and I’ve hardly stayed in any of them because I live here. And I like to sleep in my own bed. But here are three really great resorts that take the whole hotel thing up a notch. Or eight.

1. JW Marriott

2. Westin La Cantera

3. Hyatt Hill Country Resort

If you get tired of being in San Antonio and want to explore, there are so many great small towns close by that you can visit for the day. My favorites are:

1. Boerne (pronounced like Bernie, as in Weekend At)

If you head out that way make sure you stop at Fiddlin’ Frogs
which is one of my new favorite stores ever.

2. Gruene (pronounced like Green, as in Acres)

Eat a chicken fried steak at the Gristmill and visit the oldest dancehall in Texas.

3. Fredericksburg

I adore this little town. Great antique stores.

4. Comfort

And how can you not enjoy a place called Comfort, Texas?

So there you have it. A completely non-comprehensive guide to San Antonio and all it has to offer. But maybe it will help you. Or maybe you’re never planning to visit San Antonio and that’s okay too.

And if I’ve left off anything that might be essential and/or life-changing, please let me know. Then I can kick myself for not being thorough.

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Click on over to read all about the Real Women Philadelphia Community.

Y’all.

I worked on my Fashion Friday post on and off all day.

And I had every intention of discussing the last five trends for Spring and Summer.

And then something terrible happened and I deleted almost the entire post in its entirety.

(Is that redundant? The entire post in its entirety?)

Clearly, I need a Valium.

I can’t bear to start over again right now because I’m tired of looking at clothes. That’s right. I’m tired of looking at clothes.

So, no Fashion Friday today. Believe me, it hurts me worse than it hurts you.

All that fashion, GONE LIKE THE WIND.