The Magic & The Wonder

The 9th Annual The Magic & The Wonder show by Kosair Charities at Kentucky Center.  The show was MC’d by WSBT’s Meteorologist and Magician Paul Emmick.  He helped bring the show to life.

The main hosts of the show are Patrick and Janice Miller, a husband and wife duo from Louisville, KY.  Pat and Janice do mostly illusions that blow your mind.  I know we kept trying to figure it out ourselves.  The illusion below is the shrinking woman.  You can check out more information about the happy couple on their website, Magic Illusions by Pat and Janice.

Another performer was the hilariously talented Stephen Knowles.  He started ventriloquism as a very young child and it stuck.  Currently Stephen Knowles can be found at the Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge, TN.  He definitely makes you laugh and in awe of his amazing talent.

The second half of the show showcased first Charlie Frye & Company.  For over 20 years Charlie and his wife, Sherry, have been entertaining.  According to his website, Charlie wanted to be Batman and since that backfired he followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, who were clowns.   His wife Sherry, whom he met at the circus was a showgirl, aerialist, and a classically trained ballerina.  He is an amazing juggler with a great sense of humor.   Feel free to jump over to his website and learn more about him as well.

Then finally but not least was Mac King.  I actually knew him from my childhood.  When I was about 8 or 9 I had my parents record a magic show on VHS.  For all you youngsters that is an old persons version of a DVD or BluRay Disc.  I still have it actually and he was a performer on there and I absolutely loved him.  On the TV show and on this live show he did the getting rid of the hiccups trick!  It definitely flashed me back to my childhood.  King has been performing since he was 10 and definitely still entertains to this day.  You can see him now in Vegas!  Learn more about King on his website as well!

Interested in learning about the Art of Magic yourself?  Check out Louisville Magic Club!

Now as much as I appreciated the freebie tickets for this generous cause, the seats were awful for the type of magic that was performed.  Honestly they should cut off tickets after a certain section or have some sort of images and cameras going around.  We were in row A on the top balcony which was super duper dusty btw.  HOWEVER greatly appreciated making memories with my kids to do the review.

A Night Out with Harry Connick Jr.

WOW!!!  Awesome! Amazing! Wonderful!  Spectacular!  Those are the words I would use to express last night’s show with Harry Connick Jr.  Those words are no where near enough to explain the show that I was so lucky to see.  I was however lucky enough to share the event with my Mom who said she had the time of her life.  His style was one of the reasons that made me fall in love with music.

An Evening with Harry Connick, Jr. was May 19 at Whitney Hall in The Kentucky Center.  Most people know Harry Connick, Jr. from American Idol, which I personally had no idea he was on, my love started with When Harry Met Sally.  Tonight he actually shared a story about when he was in the studio recording, “It Had to Be You” from the movie.

Harry Connick, Jr.  is a native of New Orleans which shows in his performances while playing piano.  He also played trumpet, guitar, and keyboard tonight.  He has a way of bringing you into his show and show you how much fun the entire band have on stage.  You leave the show feeling like you have a new best friend.

Some amazing things happened tonight during the show, someone brought his new album cover to sign, he received a piano quilt, made a little girl have a memory she will never forget, brought a couple on stage for their first dance as an engaged couple (he asked during the show), and gave a woman a 4 bar dance!  I laughed, I cried, I smiled, and I left on a musical high!  If you ever get a chance to catch him person, do it!!!

If you missed him this time you can catch him in September 2016 on our local WAVE 3 station in his new show Harry, which he claims is on earlier so we can all stay awake.  I say good idea and I cannot wait!  Harry will entertain us with his live band and laughter as a daytime show.

Never heard of Harry Connick, Jr?  Well not only is he an amazing entertainer but has helped our country in various ways through charitable work.  He helped create the Musicians’ Village after Hurricane Katrina to provide homes for musicians and displaced citizens, a community center with a performance hall and recording studio as well as an after-school facility for kids.  He has also been happily married for 22 years and has three beautiful daughters.

You can find out more information about the star here on his website www.harryconnickjr.com!

Hooters..All You Can Eat Night

I think I am still full from Monday’s dinner at Hooters for All You Can Eat Boneless Wings.  Worth it?  Yes.  Miserable later?  Yes  Do not know when to stop eating?  Yes

Can you see a theme here?  We ended up taking our 9 and 3 year olds with us which was great, however we had to request to be seated at a shorter table so they sat us in the corner in the dark!  Even our 9 year old said it was too dark.  I didn’t want to ask for a more lit area so we just stayed.  Later on we found out that being in the corner on the side of the restaurant that no one else is also means, SLLLLLOOOOOWWWW service.  She was very polite though.

So appetizers to the rescue from our starvation.  We went with Fried Pickles because you can never go wrong with Fried Pickles and their delicious sauce accompanied with them.  There were four of us eating and we had plenty.

Now that we have left I kind of want to go back now for more.  My husband is a frequent flier of Hooters and has always wanted to try the Buffalo Chicken Dip and I personally am addicted to my Buffalo Chicken Dip so we tried it.  I have to say I was extremely disappointed.  The amount of chips per dip were good, we had tons of chips left over actually.  The ranch on top was a perfect amount to cool the heat.  However to us it was more like Buffalo Dip.  Not very much Chicken at all and too much liquid in the dip.

We all ran out of drinks quite quickly and getting refills were a pain in the butt.  We drink a lot.  One thing to me that seems like a waste of time is giving everyone a new glass and new straw.   If Hooters ever needed to cut costs you could most definitely start there.  For one, have them keep their cup and refill it or get a pitcher and fill it with what they are drinking.  Especially for the water drinkers.  I could understand if it was a drink that was not so popular.  My children were slightly disappointed by no milk, but they don’t whine so water was fine, thankfully.  My husband cooled down with a nice tall glass of beer.  It had the most perfect foam top as well!

Eventually our food came and I have to say, the amount of fries for a single order was awesome.  It’s all my daughter wanted instead of a kids meal so she ate about half of them.  Luckily since I didn’t order any for the first time ever I got some of hers.  Eating boneless wings or tenders without fries just seems wrong.

Our oldest got a kids meal with BBQ Boneless Wings and he just absolutely loved them.  Maybe he should have got the All You Can Eat Wings lol.

My husband and I were impressed with the amount of wings we got each time.  I know some restaurants do less amounts on each of your refills.  Below are a photos of round one, aka BBQ and General Tsos.  Nicely coated with their sauces.  I personally tried the BBQ, Teriyaki, and General Tso’s sauces.  My husband is a Three Mile Island fan but only did it once.

Now do not get me wrong all the sauces were good, however when I ordered the Teriyaki sauce, it was drenched and had a decent size pool of sauce at the bottom as well.  My other complaint about Hooters in general is charging such a high price for more ranch dressing.

Will we go back?  Of course, we would be crazy not too.  Are we sometimes disappointed?  90% of the time, but heck we keep going back anyway.  For your viewing pleasure I have posted photos of the current menu.

Parting is Such Sorrow

There are things in life each of us will never ever understand.  There are things we try to figure out but will never get.  There are things we ask questions to but do we really want the answers.  Would knowing why something happened are us feel better? What if we had someone to blame?

I personally do not know why this sweet angel was sent so soon.

In his short span of life this little guy taught me that life is short.  He taught me that you really cannot take anything or anyone for granted.  He taught me that the ones you thought you needed that you do not.  He taught me that the ones you cared for that you cared more than you really ever knew yourself.  He taught me that the three babies I lost although tragic were sacrificed for the ones I was allowed to keep.  He taught me so much more.

This sweet little boy entered the world a fighter and tonight he left as one too. 
If I stare at the photo above or below all I can think is that it is not fair and I do not understand.  His parents and family are much stronger than I believe I could ever be and yet I can never understand their pain.  My love goes out to them at the time of their loss of their sweet baby boy!

ZZZzzz

I want so much to write you and tell you about all the excitement that has been going on here lately, however it has been too much excitement because I am too tired and exhausted to tell you all what has been going on.  Although, and I am sure I am not the only one, as soon as I get upstairs in my own bed I will be wide awake!!  I hate that.

So look forward to about 5 posts tomorrow about various things such as cooking, baking, reviews, family fun, and so much more!!!!

In the meantime I will leave you with this little cutie here.  His name is Dalun and he fought so hard for his life the last week or so!  He is doing much much better and I cannot wait to hold him myself!! If you are one to pray please send him some, if not send juju or postive vibes, as all appreciation is accepted!

Arm and Hammer Spinbrush Love

Do you think it is possible to be in love?

 

 

 

With a toothbrush?

Well I am not sure but I am pretty dang on close with this one.

Where do I start? I have used all kinds of toothbrushes but nothing compares to this Spinbrush!! It brushes so well it is like going to the dentist every time I brush! Granted it made my gums hurt a bit but lets face it who brushes really well and this brush does that for me! I am excited to keep on using it and get my husband one as well.

It came in an easy to open package, which to me says a lot about a product. Who wants to fight to get open a toothbrush and cut themselves on plastic.

The brush has an extra part to help floss and get in between your teeth!! I am pretty sure i even brush longer because this brush feels so good about getting the grit out! I would highly recommend this brush to anyone.

An added bonus: this brush came with two double A batteries already and not just any batteries but top of the line Duracell batteries. That impressed me as well, I am used to see the cheap batteries put into products instead of a good one. I should mention that opening the battery portion of the brush was super easy as well. I have had to struggle with previous brushes and even ask my husband to open them.

Pair this brush with the minty toothpaste and you have a winner leaving you fresh and clean like you just walked out of the dentist office but with out the high priced bill!

This post was sponsored by ARM & HAMMER™ Oral Care as part of a sampling activation for Crowdtap. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.

IKEA…the Mecca

So many people talk about IKEA I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.  I got this feeling of a light flashing down on it and a choir singing, “ahhhhhhh” as we drove into the parking lot.

I have to say I love how they have a loading parking area. It is a brilliant idea.

We walked in and we’re slightly confused on where to go but we headed straight up first.  It was all laid out so neat and perfect. 

The first things we saw were these awesome mini dressers.  Now granted it looks like they were painted by amateurs but still apealing. 

Star Wars for the oldest.

Monsters Inc because I love it.

As we walked in the room and house setups it made me want everything there, DHL too!  Another brilliant idea was having these paper rulers, pencils, and shopping lists throughout the store.

Sorry IKEA I took three rulers for my kids, I knew they would adore them and I was right.

We wanted to buy so much more but ended up with a set of heavy duty microwave and dishwasher safe plates; it was 18pcs total for $19.99. We also purchased two plastic trays as we like to eat outside a lot and this will help the kids carry stuff out.

All in all a great yet overwhelming experience.

Courtyard Cincinnati North at Union Centre

Wow all I can say is wow. I stayed at a Courtyard in New York for about a month and a half and was highly impressed then. This brought me back to then. I had an amazing time and felt greatly appreciated at this location as well.

When you walk in everything is very neat and spotless! (more on spotless later) When we were checking in there was also a bus full of kids from a baseball team but we got checked in quite quickly. At first I was concerned because I did prepay for my room but it was not noticed at first and neither was the free breakfast that was prepaid so I was a bit concerned. However they found it and all was good. After we were finished with check-in, the very kind woman came around the counter to hand us our waters and explain the times and any other information we needed such as wifi.

Off to our room we went where we were greeted with a HUGE King size bed, which I have to say was the most amazing and most comfortable bed I have ever laid in. I do not steal but if I could have fit that mattress in my purse it might have been gone. They had a mini couch in our room which was great for your posture. A two part desk and by that I mean there was a part that rolled around the room and you could sit anywhere with it, and I did. A HUGE Shower!!!

Now earlier when I said everything was spotless in the lobby it was in the room as well! I even checked the top of the picture frames for dust, yes I am that person, and they were clean and clear!! Some of the bathroom tile had some stain but doesn’t everyone’s bathroom? The last time I stayed at a Courtyard the Shampoo’s were not so large so I was excited by that because I have longer hair and use an entire bottle. Now I do not!

We ordered the same breakfast two days in a row. It was so delicious!!! Turkey sausage, egg whites, sourdough toast, and potatoes!!! Delicious!! The second day I ordered the same thing but my sausage was dry, the egg whites were not egg whites and we got less potatoes than the previous day but it was still good. My husband also got to fill up his coffee a few times.

Yes I put ketchup on my eggs!

The first night we visited the pool/whirlpool area. We were not hugely impressed but not extremely disappointed either. The whirlpool/hot tub did not have any jets that were working. IT was nice and toasty though. The pool was a comfortable temperature as well. It was 4′ deep at it’s deepest and I loved that.

My only negative comment about the entire stay was there was no vent/fan in the bathroom. Lets face it everyone has to go to the bathroom but it would have been nice for some of it to be sucked up by the vent!

2am

Isn’t there a song that says, “it’s 2am and I must be lonely?” Or is it 3am? Matchbox 20? Heck IDK what I do know is it is 2am and I cannot sleep. I think it has something to do with the fact that I was alone 80% of yesterday. 

Why is that such a big deal? Well it was my birthday, the oldest at school and the younger two with my parents.  I hated it. Who wants that on their birthday?

It brought me down a few notches.  Although I have been doing a lot of thinking.  Five of my fb friends had babies in the last 7 days 3 boys and 2 girls.  Out of them two had issues and had to have an extended stay.  Luckily one came home today. The other, well he still needs all the prayers, juju, good vibes that he can get.  He is the son of someone I consider my sister.  The entire family is like my second family and I would do anything for them.

This little handsome guy has improved over the last few days but is still where he is in the photo.  I wish I could take it away from them.  No one wants anyone to go thru this and no one thinks it can strike so close to home.  However it happens.  Life is short and things go by quick.  I know I keep thinking I cannot wait until he gets to come home and play with his toys and read the amazing book collection his mom and dad got for him!!

He is so strong and his parents much stronger than I ever could be!!

I stay awake wondering because I care.